I also don't follow the news closely, especially international news.

There is a lot of evil in the world, and a lot of sadness. My participation in the spectacle will not make it better, but it will make ME worse. I don't mean to say I completely ignore news, but I do not read extensively, watch it on TV, etc. I do not listen to BBC or NPR much anymore. I just can't take it, I am too tired and too sad already. It started with getting rid of my Twitter account when Trump was president, because the news was always about Trump. And then after losing my daughter and living through a pandemic, I was just exhausted and had no energy for news...particularly politics.

If I can do something good in my little corner of the world, I will. So I pay attention to local news, as much as I can tolerate.