The guy made a choice. A very interesting choice and one I probably wouldn’t or couldn’t. However, the level of comment vitriol leveled at this mans race, gender and wealth is incredibly disturbing. I could not imagine being in the skin of these sad, resentful people. Could many of them actually be Russian bots/fake accounts?
56
I respect and admire his decision to limit access to downers in life and focus more on what makes him happy. Live simply so others can simply live, isn't that the way it should be? You can rant about social contracts and such, but you'll die of a heart attack or stroke before he does.
28
So the rich white guy American wants to use the money he made on sneakers on pigs and coal.
Just another rich White guy wanting everyone else to live his lie. No guilt for making shoes on the backs of third world countries.
A lot of money and no love and no empathy on this world. So Trump could use a man like him.
This is a sad poor person. So what.
9
I’m just disgusted with the guy living on a “ pig farm.” Like la dee dah just a farm. Pigs are intelligent lovable animals and this guy what doesn’t care about their well being or lives , only his own insulated world.
9
What would be really interesting is if Mr. Hagerman decided at some point to rejoin the world, and was faced with catching up on the entire Trumplandia saga all at once. He would probably grasp the staggering ways that things have changed since November 2016 more clearly than those of us who have become inured to the old outrages as new ones supersede them every day. I hope the author will keep in touch with him and write another article on him if and when he goes through such a reawakening. That viewpoint itself could be a contribution to civil society by Mr. Hagerman.
54
Since we quite obviously have no real recourse over the demise of the republic, he is probably the most rational individual. We complain and complain, point out the Kleptocracy, the corruption, but no real fix. So more power to a guy who focuses on his quality of life. When we devise a fix, such as releasing taxes, holding DC accountable, he can jump back into the conversation. We are a banana republic, and there appears to be no immediate repair available.
17
This guy has gotten everyone around him to essentially cater to his needs. When I walk into a Starbucks, I can't even get a simple cup of decaf coffee (apparently they don't carry decaf anymore even though you can order a soy/almond/ whatever double-with a shot of-etc etc etc), however this guy can go to a coffee shop, tell people not to speak to him of the news and they just do what he says? Must be nice being so entitled.
Just go on doing whatever you feel like and the world will simply fall at your feet. I am envious. Isn't this how Donald Trump operates as well?
25
It is a mistake to accuse Mr. Hagerman of burying his head in the sand. He is not going to vote in the mid-term election (unless he choses to just vote party line), but presumably he will vote against Mr. Trump in 2020 (assuming the President makes it that far and runs again). Mr. Hagerman has political convictions, but he's just choosing to take a break from current events. Most people who keep up with current events don't actually do anything in response to what they read anyway. They just wait for the next election, just like Mr. Hagerman is doing. As for his white male privilege: unlike some white males, it sounds like Mr. Hagerman actually earned his money by working very hard in a field that happens to be highly valued right now. So, now he has decided to take some time off from the wider world and restore an old strip mine near where he lives. That sounds pretty engaged to me.
The tone of this article is pointlessly sarcastic. Calling this a liberal fantasy is going for a cheap joke and misleading. I'll bet a lot more extremely right wing people pay no attention to actual political affairs.
35
I think this guy is lucky he gets to live how he wants. But the article is seriously flawed from the get go: why does Mr Hagerman "know too little" (and why is the headline in the past tense BTW?), why would you make that judgment; nor is he possibly the "most ignorant man" in America--I personally know people that have ignored current events for years and years and beat this guy by a mile. I expected much more from the sensational start of piece, but Mr. Hagerman was far from unique or interesting.
6
1. Getting the NYT to write about your retirement -well played.
2. Pretty selfish life - no family and retire from country as well. Not even a dog.
3. In the East, worldly affairs (of which politics is one) is referred to as samsara. Retiring from samsara is an oft repeated desire. Matter of fact Hindu weddings include a ritual where a man is tired of family and community obligations and wishes to retire into the hills to mediate and is dissuaded from doing so by friends/family.
But in either case to each his own. Not every one needs to live a cookie cutter life. Whatever suits a person's fancy as long as it isn't about hurting animals, people or earth.
8
What's horrible about trying to keep up with the news is the 24 hour news cycle that reports over and over again whatever has been deemed to be the top story of the day - until the next one comes along. This is a style of the business of delivering news that robs us of our time, and thus our lives. It has little to do with being informed, and a lot to do with manipulation. I think there's good journalism as well, but you have to look for it.
12
I was on a blockade for a while. While it's true that it's better to engage and fight for what's right, if for a time it's too depressing and stressful and destructive to self, then a blockade can truly help. While I was on my blockade, here's how I explained it to my friends: If I were a very long-lived being, and I had just awakened from a 500-year-long nap, the people around me would say, "Wow, you've been asleep for a while! Do you want to know what's happening?" And I'd say, "Wait. Let me tell *you* what's happening. Neighboring countries are at war. The rich are trying to get richer at the expense of the poor, and are succeeding because they are more powerful. Governments are crumbling and moving toward failure because those running the governments care only about themselves. Those who care about what is good and right and care about those less fortunate are disspirited." My new friends would say, "That's right." And I'd say, "So why do I really need to know the names of the evil ones in power, and exactly what they are doing, and the locations of the worst events? I know what's happening. I don't need the microscopic details."
32
it's an early bucolic boring myopic retirement of sorts at younger age because he has nothing else to do with his money and no hungry mouths or college educations for millennial seed that would text him news by mistake. He has worked up his stamp on the community to bequeath since he has no heirs. Sure why not. He's the eccentric uncle. It sounds better than the asylum if not lonelier.
6
A self information "Blockade"... isn't that a repressive Goverment's wish dream.
9
Honestly, whatever judgment I would pass on Mr Hagerman is the same judgment I would pass on people who retreat from the world into their own political bubbles. That goes for those on the left and the right. I kind of appreciate his approach more than any of them.
15
I love this. I am too that point myself. And I have a degree in military history. But at my age the stress and depression are taking an enormous toll. I still watch movies, but am weaning away from all Trump news. My life is too precious. I used to love my country. Now it makes me cry. And Mr. H has wonderful taste!
18
A very sad person and a sadder story. If we all did that the world would never change or improve. People's thoughts and beliefs matter, whether we agree or not Seek help for him and the writer of this story.
3
Only a financially comfortable white man would consider this a reasonable “solution” to the state of the country. Those of us who are female or of color or queer or immigrants do not have the luxury of detaching: we are in danger. For people with privilege to think only of their personal discomfort is obscene. It is that attitude that allowed the Nazis to flourish in Germany. This man is not ignorant so much as he is amoral.
27
The split in the reaction of the readers is exactly what this man is counting on in his bid for a book and a movie deal. I would call the entire enterprise fake non-news.
3
I had a similar reaction to the article, why is this news? After realizing I was not (spoiler alert) going to be reading about the most ignorant man in America, I was left to wonder who he knew at the NYT to warrant so much ink. An arrogant wealthy retiree who finds one worthwhile project to pay for. Big deal.
15
I find white male privilege to be as annoying as anyone. But here's a guy who isn't exercising it — he's going off by himself. What do commenters want him to do here, other than not get an article written about himself, that he will no doubt not read? Should he stay in the media loop and waste his time as most of us do here, even by commenting? Give his money away? Go back to working 14 hour days?
The negative attention he's getting says a lot about the insecurities of people who obviously don't do what they want.
I do, by the way. I write. And all the media coverage I spend time on really interferes with it.
I think what Hagerman's doing is spot on.
19
Head in the sand is not the way to live life, regarding current events. It reminds me of the line in the movie Animal House, by the Dean, " going through life fat, drunk and stupid is not way to live. " Current events, even if you don't agree with the head person is essential.
2
Wondering how reporter found dude, and why dude agreed to talk to reporter.
16
My questions exactly. Who is playing whom?
8
A news junkie friend sent this article to me knowing that like Erik Hagerman, I have worked hard at excluding mainstream news from my life.
My own blockade began November 3, 2004, the day after my fellow Americans allowed the bumbling Mr. Bush to continue his presidency.
I agree with other commenters here that Hagerman's imposition on others is too extreme and dictatorial. When friends or sports broadcasters accidentally slip bits of contemporary news past my firewall, I quickly move on to more pertinent subjects: winter storm warnings, grocery specials, or the community playhouse schedule: mundane things that inform my day-to-day decisions and actions. As Tip O'Neill would have liked to have said, "all meaningful knowledge is local".
Through my self-imposed blackout, I believe the freedom from fear-based governance and ignoring the circus of superficial politics allow me a sharper focus on the local issues that matter more to me and impact my immediate community.
Like any other addiction, the news machine more often brings despair, and rarely heals.
13
I feel a bit like I've had the wool pulled over my eyes...by the subject himself. There are so many more questions than answers. When I started reading this story, I couldn't help but think "Hmm, I think I have to admire this man on some level." Upon finishing the story, that had changed to "Wow...I kind of feel like a chump for indulging him." Someone who has worked quite fervently for the last year and a half to avoid bumping into real life (because, really, every day in public life brings some exposure to political life) embraces, without any apparent reluctance, being featured in an article by a NY Times writer...to what?--to spotlight his avoidance of exposure to any politics whatsoever. Other commenters have pointed out the irony of this, but I'm not sure Mr. Hagerman is very persuasive in his conviction. What benefit could he possibly derive from this? We're led to believe he felt like a cog of sorts (albeit on an executive level) in his former professional life, and perhaps never felt he had contributed anything substantial to society. But what first strikes one as an admirable "experiment" ends up coming across as nothing more than a narcissistic exercise--at the reader's expense. Others have wondered, would he read this article? My guess is, yes--most certainly. And he may be checking in often to read these comments. He has been given his 15 minutes at last--why waste that? Side note: he has two dishes on his roof--hard to believe it's merely to pull in Cavs games.
10
Great... People like this will ensure trump will be president for 8 YEARS...!!!
18
I am envious that he is able to maintain this. And while it may be unrealistic, I am sympathetic with his avoidance of the latest news created by this man. Friends and I sometimes say to one another wistfully, "Remember when we didn't think about what the President was doing for days at a time?"
6
I hope Mr. Hagerman votes regardless if he knows day to day what terrible things are being done while he putters.
5
In the 173 years since essayist and abolitionist Henry David Thoreau withdrew from society in pretty much the same way as Mr. Hagerman, we have come to celebrate Thoreau as a national hero. The art that he created from the experience, his book "Walden," is an American classic. The book is named for the Massachusetts lake by which Thoreau spent his retreat. The Walden site now is a 335-acre state park and a National Historic Landmark. Thoreau was a lifelong abolitionist, an environmentalist, a prolific writer of about 20 volumes of essays and poetry, a tax protester (during the Mexican-American War--which America unjustly initiated to grab Mexican land--a move which Abraham Lincoln later also decried,") but "Walden" is overwhelmingly what we treasure him for. Mr Hagerman says he is spending his life savings on buying his 45 acres of degraded-strip-mine property and preserving the land for posterity. He is also an artist. If more people had this kind of focus, we could could probably spare them from the political fray and the voting booth to do it. I admire and applaud him.
11
Lucky man ... Part of my work is to watch over politics ... so I can't afford such a thing ...
3
Mr. Hagerman has chosen to be a hermit, permitting only a few intensely constrained contacts with old friends. No partner, no being in community, and the same scone every morning. He occurs for me as someone who has squeezed all the juice out of life a long time ago, and is using the acid politics of today to justify continuing to live that way. Still, he has the freedom to live that way, and I would not want to see that freedom denied.
5
I, too, tried a blockade, I was so disgusted. I wish it had lasted longer. I still boycott media that seem to normalize trump.
I just hope that Erik bothers to vote in the next election, for anyone who won't help the current government.
8
I understand his decision it's his life. I had to quit dating someone because of politics! Constant debating / arguing doesn't make me happy. Fox News 24/7... even on vacation in Jamaica? Enough already! Political debate programs on the radio when we were in the car? Ugh! Seriously politics 24/7 is sickening (for me). I'm much happier and much less stressed without him/that. To each his/her own! Bravo Mr Hagerman!
12
While I would never go this far, this man’s story inspired my to « disconnect » at least temporarily from my usual local newspaper, wich is now online only. Local news outlet are having a free lunch over physicians in Quebec. Gets on my nerves! A time out period as I used to have on vacation before wifi was everywhere.... when you come back to your daily reality and realize that nothing that important has happened in the 3 weeks you were away...the importance of getting a sense of perpective instead of reacting automatically, in other words taking time to think!
8
After receiving a poorly made cappuccino Thurston decided to enter a buddist monastery and devote the rest of his life to wearing saffron robes and chanting the letter M.
Please don't write a feature article about him.
5
Why not? To each his own. Just because a bunch of NYTimes readers dictate that we have to be wringing our hands and protesting against Trump, or "white male privilege" or whatever, doesn't make it a mandate. It's this guy's life to live, and life is short.
10
Will he read this piece? His brother should save it for him because events will breach the blockade.
2
I don’t see why people are critical of this. I’ve done a version of it myself to protect myself from the chaos of this political regime. If this man is paying his taxes, I feel it’s his right to do this no matter where he lives.
It’s not that he knows nothing; it’s that he chooses to edit political input.
I’d liken it to Thoreau and Walden Pond.
8
Erik Hagerman was so shaken by the election of Trump that he resorted to the extreme measures seen in the article. While he apparently has no idea exactly how bad it's been over the last year, he should know this much: the most certain way to contain the damage done by Trump is to vote for Democrats in statewide contests come November. Since Hagerman lives in Ohio, I hope that he: 1) He votes for Sherrod Brown to retain his seat in the Senate; 2) votes for the Richard Cordray, the Democrat in the governor's race.
Republicans have a razor thin margin in the Senate, so re-electing Brown matters deeply. Likewise, electing Cordray as governor would serve notice to Trump that Ohio is once again a swing-state decidedly in play. Trump's chances of re-election would immediately evaporate.
Erik Hagerman wants to spend a lot of time and energy restoring an old strip mine. That's an admirable future goal. Still, there is space for more immediate remediation in the coming weeks and months. Irrespective of Trump, I hope that Hagerman takes the time to put a couple of yard signs in support of Democratic candidates on his front lawn. "Blockade" or no, there's important work he can do for the entire country, right there in Ohio.
6
He is only the second most ignorant man-first place belongs to the President.
7
This guy strikes me as the seminal Peter Pan of the folkloric liberal enclaves that have been lampooned on SNL as "The Bubble"...the guy who would make Jordan Peterson apoplectic, the sullen narcissist who elects to remain partnerless and childless and refuses to be engaged by the lumpenproletariat baristas at his local cafe, who must bring him his coffee under specific directives from management in keeping with his pristine "routine". It's an interesting enough story, but he still strikes me as a gigantic tool.
7
Must be nice to be a healthy, well off, white male with no dependents. Only a healthy, well off, white male with no dependents could afford the luxury of being completely and deliberately ignorant of the world around him. Change any one of those parameters (not well off, not male, not white, not healthy, with dependents) and the level of ignorance he has allowed for himself becomes dangerous indeed.
10
Smoking in bed - that's not cool. Especially the smoking part.
2
How is citizenship served by unending outrage? Maybe that's a better use of privilege than reading the same old. Maybe he's got a life.
5
Personally, I think he's a coward. Ignore the news all you want but if it means you contribute nothing to making this country (not to the mention this planet) a better place to live and thrive in after what's happened over the past 13 months, then I see him as nothing more than an elitist "taker". The wetland habitat means squat in the big scheme of things, it's a hobby, nothing more. The irony of this 'news blackout' dude having an article written by one of the biggest news outlets in the world is not missed. What an embarrassment.
8
I sort of did the same thing when Bush stole the election in 2000. I more or less tuned them out and went about my existence. Regretted it a bit after 9/11, Iraq, Katrina... Okay, so maybe I didn't completely tune it out. Now almost 20 years later, I definitely went the other way, I cannot stop reading and watching the news, following more than a dozen outlets. I've toned it down some of late to get more done in the day, but still the obsession rules. The corruption runs deep with the Trump crime family. And if you're not following this Mr Hagerman, you're missing out on The Crime Story of the Century.
4
Is Erik Hagerman really much different from those who choose to believe exclusively the outpouring of either the ultra-conservative or ultra-liberal media………either approach excludes a portion of reality.
Additionally I believe most individuals do not read beyond the headlines of anything missing the important aspects of most news items.
Unfortunately many of us are more similar to Hagerman than we think.
5
Member of the 1 percent decides he has enough money and now wants to "check out" instead of helping to fix the very system that helped him make all that money in the first place. Worthy of a NYT profile piece? Me thinks not.
11
His blockade precludes him reading this article.
1
I'm a U.S. expat, living in Morocco, and there are three problems that I have with this story.
1) Mr. Hagerman says that he consumed news for years without doing something about it, but that is, to be frank, his own fault. When I consume news, I show up at town halls and protests, donate money when I can, and lend whatever skills I can to a cause. Were all the lawyers who rushed to airports to work immigrant cases pro bono in protest of President Trump's travel ban to take a hiatus like Mr. Hagerman, many moments of humanity would have been lost. People go unprotected if we decide that they're not worth thinking about.
2) Show, don't tell, NYT. The piece calls him a liberal, but gives no sufficient reason for that to be the case. What are his thoughts on politics? What policies does he support or not support? What does he believe? The article tells us that he doesn't like President Trump, but is that a political identity? It told us the impetus for "The Blockade" was the election, but it didn't even really tell us what he thought of the campaign that led up to it.
3) When President Trump moved the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, many of the Muslims I see every day were upset. They wondered why. There were protests. His actions affect the lives of, for better or worse, the entire world. And it's unconscionably selfish to choose not to be cognizant of that, or to do anything about it. We must engage, Mr. Hagerman. Our discomfort does not trump other's suffering.
11
Ignoring the very real problems of Trump supporters is exactly what got Trump elected.
I'm sorry, but I have zero respect for Erik Hagerman. Now is a critical time to try to understand and fix our country. We need responsible adults, not overly "sensitive" ones who only care about their own comfort.
12
I told myself, post-election, that I was going to unplug. At the end of the day, I live and work in this country and its policies will affect me whether I like it or not.
4
Isn’t he consuming, or at least feeding, media by agreeing to a published in-depth feature with a readership reaching millions?
5
My idea of balancing my mind is giving equal time to beauty and pleasant surprises. Trump has me practicing overtime.
Have you met this kid? He gives me a reason to embrace life and reject the darkness for half the day.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zua831utwMM
1
Mr. Hagersman is not alone.My wife has ‘blockaded’ all political news since Election Day as well. However, she does have a vague sense of non political news.
She does follow Facebook but has several kinds of blocks on her computer to keep the content politics free. It isn’t that hard to do.She just changes the subject t if politics come up.
Part of her reasoning is that as a senior she may not live long enough to see things turn around. She can’t fix anything so there seems to be no point in being stressed all the time.
1
I’ve been considering reducing my news exposure alot, esp to TV. Can’t go as far as this man has---at least so far. Who knows by the last year of a trump admin? How much can I take.
This is a new feeling for me---to feel the burden of living through an authoritarian leader in America. One who admires world dictators, is himself mentally unstable, and is all about his own ego, with no respect for our democracy.
But the way TV news is presenting the issues is inadequate. They obsess over every palace intrigue drama, every power play. They devote hours daily to speculation on the latest from the Mueller probe. But there’s little in real facts. It’s too early for results. There’s disagreement on what it all means.
The media is doing the public a disservice. They avoid discussing the issues affecting all our lives, as they obsess on Trump. I keep the TV on mute and avoid THE TWEETS FROM THE TWIT IN CHIEF.
The right and the left are distorted, and the voters lack perspective on what the govt owes its citizens in any democracy. The corporations pile up profits and power over our congress. Our NYT columnists avoid this as well as TV. Why?
Media is proud of 1st amendment protecting against explicit govt censorship. But media gets profit from campaign ads. Koch Bros and corporate donors set the limits of policy making. Donors remove power from the people, and create our political center since the Ds must vie with Rs for campaign money. Our center does not represent us.
2
Is Mr. Hagerman going to read this article about himself?
1
Obviously not. He would learn quite a bit of the past year's events if he did so.
1
I'm jealous.
Obsessive observation of a predictable heist can drive you mad.
I took the Bankster Crash so seriously I reconstructed the advancement of fascist movements from Zola's accusations against same to the latest comfort stations. It has given me a deeper pallet of colors to craft my scream, but it's the same struggle between social justice and dirty old white men.
I committed eight years to advancing progressive thought to disassemble attitudes and beliefs that have made rape and domestic violence defensible. I don't fret over what I am to do about "now" as I have inoculated over 40,000 young men and women with the virus of social justice. I can rest on their laurels.
Banksters and their long con front men are gonna do what they do. I can, too, because I don't owe any of them. Having read citigroup's Plutonomy Report, I know our Banksters, Trump and Putin demand OUR conflict to maintain their material status quo.
Bro told me in 2008 if I kept calling this a slow walk into fascism, he was gonna put me in the nut house. Now he says I was correct, but we still can't do anything but watch humanity redefine what it means to go nuts. Like right now, I am losing it to that bird who is laser gunning the golf tournament. OMG! His commitment is intolerable!
This article is thought provoking and inspiring. We need to re evaluate.
Everyone has their own antidote to the negative effects of the Trump administration. I suggest Mozart piano concertos, while walking in the park, or even just sitting. This is like going to heaven--the complete antidote to the news atmosphere today.
Right now, Mozart no. 15 is on WQXR radio--- exquisite, delightful -- too mild to describe it.
I'm getting dressed to go out and walk/jog! Yay!
I'm cutting down on my TV news diet for the coming week.
I've been trying trumpless Tuesdays. Not quite so extreme.
2
The man who knew too little knows a great deal about publicity for his art.
4
Since his lake is on land with a repurposed coal mine, I’d imagine the water may be contaminated. But he will never know if comtanination issues exist because his head is in the sand"
6
to each his own, but i find this too extreme. in my 30+ years of being able to vote, i voted twice in 2 national elections. i read all news sources and sees the validity of both sides. personally, i would be ok if hillary was president, but i’m fine with trump too despite some of his shortcomings. whoever is president really believes that he (or she if it ever happens) is acting in the best interests of our country and our election process has entrusted him with that power
1
My first thought was "white privilege" also, but at least he's come up with a plan for using his time and money that will benefit the earth and others. I've cut back on reading and watching depressing news as well and am devoting my time to taking a community choir of teen-agers of diverse economic and ethnic backgrounds to a Hiroshima Choir Festival to build friendships and become a part of promoting peace.
I agree that Kant’s philosophy is interesting. Which reminds me that when the instructor of an aesthetics class I once took said he wasn’t interested in politics, I reminded him that virtually everything we are allowed to do is determined by a legislature, a court, or another political body.
In fact, by not being politically active enough, us liberals allowed others – including tea party folks who were much more enthusiastic about politics than us -- to co-opt those bodies. Essentially, we allowed those crazy conservatives to tell us and our kids what to do, that the planet is not worth saving, that more guns are the answer to gun violence, that inequality is here to stay, and that bigotry and hatred are acceptable ways of dealing with other people.
Only now, after we lost both the presidency and Congress, are we willing to fight to have a say in what goes on in our lives.
It’s disappointing that Mr. Hagerman isn’t.
5
It takes money to do what he is doing. And lots of it. Too bad those suffering the most from Trumps policies are too poor to escape the way he has.
9
I am aware that we (my friends and I) are still saying "unbelieveable!" to the endless charade of the Trump presidency. But, of course, it's not.
1
I didn't realize this way of life was so unusual , I've been living this same scenario for many years now , only I don't try as hard as he does , it just comes naturally.
His problem is he works too hard at it , just connect with the nothingness , and become a part of it , embrace the vacuum , that's all there is really , and tell me on your death bed that any of it really mattered anyway.
1
I can relate. I do everything I can to minimize my exposure to the childish presidential drama. I ignore the tweeting wars and refuse to take the bait. This is how I maintain some sanity during the most shameful and embarrassing time in our history. I wish I had the resources to drop out like Erik, but probably wouldn’t take it that far as I place my responsibility as a citizen of this country above my personal discomfort.
6
Irresponsible abdication of civic duty. I hope he does not vote either.
3
So will he vote in November and future elections?
3
I suppose this is some kind of contemporary Walden Pond. Without the pond.
1
Actuallÿ, he has a pond/lake as he recently purchased more land.
1
I am reminded of Will Rogers. To paraphrase a little: Mr Hagerman does not bother me because of what he does not know; but I am bothered by the large numbers of people who know what just ain't so.
3
Too bad. He's missed all the good stuff our president has done and is doing. Thoreau he isn't and Emerson? Not a candle...
It's too bad your article has such an unjustifiably snarky tone--all those comments about his facial gestures, the speed of his speech, or the ecologist playing "straight man" to Hagerman's, what, unconscious self-satire? Give me a break. Instead, you might have acknowledged that Hagerman is participating in a time honored American tradition that stretches from Thoreau (for heaven's sake, he's even got the pond/lake) to Twain ("I'm gonna light out for the territories.") to Aldo Leopold to Julia Butterfly Hill (the girl who sat in a redwood for two years or so). That tradition that says the "buzz buzz" of the day is not, in fact, in any way related to the "essential facts of life." It may be hard for a journalist to hear this, but all the items you list as part of the recent news cycle of the last twelve months are evanescent in the extreme. No one will care in a year, much less five or ten, about Scarmoucci's mouth, Trump's button rhetoric, or even the latest non-leak from the Mueller investigation. It only matters to people involved in or obsessed with the 24 hour news cycle. All those people in the comments beating their chest about Hagerman "sticking his head in the sand" should sit down and make a list of what they've actually done in the last year in response to the news, besides talk, aka "buzz buzz." I suspect 95% would have a very, very short list. So if you use the news to engage in activism, more power to you, if you don't, then maybe you should be quiet.
5
I have done this in the past. Two times in my life I have had to ask, "what tsunami?" only to be met with shock and outrage that I was ignorant of the events that were gripping the minds of the whole world. When one woman, an avid watcher of Fox news, learned that I had no tv at my house, she asked, dumbfounded, "what do you DO??" Reading this article makes me want to quit the "news" again. I believe in the mission of the NYT and will continue my subscription, but I think my soul needs a break.
3
it is a privilege life to have the option to fully escape, but we can all do a little bit to escape the nastiness of politics. I for one closed my Twitter account and opted to talk to more people than be gluedt o the phone. that is my reasonable escape.
1
Does Mr. Hagerman intend to vote? If so how will he know for whom to vote without educating himself on the candidates, the issues and their positions? And if he now refuses to vote then will he accept some responsibility should politicians get elected who hold positions he find abhorrent? His experiment is ridiculous and the fact that others play along by hiding newspapers and being muzzled is even more ridiculous. Pick up a paper, read and for God's sake find out what is happening to this country. You are taking the coward's way out!
5
My spouse is a a low-information voter. Two Masters degrees and wicked smart and successful, but couldn’t care less about politics.
I am so so envious and jealous.
1
How will he be able to vote?
1
What if Trump does something that destroys his Lake?
4
Is it more ignorant to blockade oneself from all current events or to consume only news that one believes?
4
While all y'all are spending time on social media, trashing this guy, he's outside on his farm, restoring a strip mine, making art, and tuning out Trump world.
Who's ignorant here?
5
Some of us are cursed with caring for all.
Others, like this gentleman, exist in a bubble.
Mr. Hagerman, I could say a lot.
But, I choose the bottom line…
Your contribution: deeding your paradise to the public after you are done using it…
Are you aware what is happening to our National Parks?
Excuse me, what a stupid question, for you have blockaded yourself from facts.
4
Like Mr. Hagerman, the Trump election was traumatic for me as well, but I didn't realize just how much the trauma had affected me. The impact to Mr. Hagerman and me was indeed heavy, but we moved in different directions. Prior to the Trump Presidency, I seldom engaged in politics online. I was relatively comfortable not sharing my radical notions about life and politics online. Almost a year after the election, my wife Stephanie and I decided that I needed some time to do some soul searching, and I spent two months in Hawai'i. It was there that I recognized the trauma and shock that I felt in the wake of the election of an individual displaying Donald Trump's characteristics to lead this or any significant collection of human beings. Among other life experiences, that election was definitely a wake-up call! Since my time in Hawai'i, I have committed to voicing alternative ways of viewing politics, ways of responding to the nightmare that is this presidency, of responding to the often crass, vociferous, voices that reflect a total disregard for reason, for civility, for many of the things that set us apart from animals in the dirt snarling at each other with instinctual enmity. My comments may not be well-received by individuals who identify themselves as belonging to one political group or another. The Trump election helped convince me that burying my head in the sand is a disservice to me and others who share my dismay!
2
I think the commenters condemning Mr. Hagerman for burying his head in the sand are missing the point. It's extreme in the way that a piece of art is extreme -- and, like a piece of art, its purpose in part is to raise important questions. Are we REALLY being "informed" by the media (let alone social media)? How is this "information" (or illusion of information) benefiting us or the world at large? Does everyone need access to all of it? How much does our focus on what's happening "out there" detract from our desire or ability to effect change in our own lives, families and communities?
8
I’m also tired of the rhetoric that suggests that just because someone holds an advanced degree, or doesn't still live in their hometown, or makes more than $X a year, he/he is somehow protected from the harshness of life. Maybe Mr. Hagerman suffers from overwhelming anxiety or a debilitating disease. Maybe his partner committed suicide. Maybe his job entailed working every day for a belittling, demeaning boss. Maybe he’s been bullied his whole life for being gay or foreign or otherwise “different.” Judging someone as being “out of touch” or “living in an ivory tower” without knowing anything about their circumstances is insulting and just amplifies the malignant divisiveness that is decimating this country.
2
If you are to be a good citizen, then it is your sacred duty to be as informed as your Life allows. AND you will need to adjust a busy Life to include becoming minimally informed. You can even determine the important things in your Life that make it "comfortable" such as a competent legal system, a competent economy, a competent national, state, and local government, a competent defense from foreign and domestic enemies, and a viable infrastructure to support these activities.
Life is Unfair. You were born into this existence having not decided to do so (Hindus and Buddhists would argue otherwise) and surely the social contract determined by your location, which can change.
Given that, my Life has some similarity to Hagerman's. I live alone, I'm deeply involved in my landscape but more as a fellow traveler along with the many lifeforms that make it up. For me there is no "environment" that does not include me; it is not outside of me. I am, presently, making my home a little larger and more comfortable as old age beckons.
In a very remote location, I watch the antics of National and International politics, carefully controlled by the media, as theater with all its joys, sorrows and everything in between.
What is paramount to me is my local community. We live together in a difficult place to live. We must be good to one another and the land we inhabit. So keeping myself, my community and the environment that we share is about all one human can do.
That's why I'm here.
1
Please cancel my digital subscription to the Times. Almost all I ever actually READ are articles about bad things Trump and the GOP are doing - possibly because they dominate the headlines, but more likely because they are more interesting (outrage is satisfying) than the real things that go on in the world. Since I can't seem to wean myself from this behavior - it's very much like drug addiction - the only solution is to cut off my supply.
I will have to quit facebook too - but since most of what I read there is about political outrages (do I even HAVE friends?), that shouldn't be too difficult.
3
Good for him. Yes, he has privilege -- not necessarily white male privilege but rich American privilege -- and he's earned it and he's using it well. He's conserving a part of American nature for the future, and building something beautiful and meaningful besides.
Naturally, most subscribers to the American Paper of Record are going to be envious/ disdainful of him, but others of us who have kicked around on this planet for many decades may feel he's chosen the better part. I look at the headlines about Mr. T, shake my head, and move on to the NYT Science section. I vote, and I'm joining a friend at an anti-assault-gun demonstration in Columbus next Saturday, but for the most part, reading about the scandals, outrages, and investigations in Washington is neither enlightening nor edifying to me. YMMV.
3
Edward Burke warned that "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."
He meant do nothing to counter the evil, of course. But Mr. Hagerman literally does nothing. He does not fight back. He does not contribute to society. He is the epitome of self-centered white privilege His narcissism is surpassed only by his cowardice.
Ordinarily I bristle when right-wingers derisively describe liberals as snowflakes, but there is no better description of Mr. Hagerman. Shame on him.
3
In find it interesting that The NY Times has finally turned to those of us who are not trump supporters to find out how we are coping and then uses this space to talk about one very specific and, quite frankly, bizarre person. When will this paper do an in-depth report on those of us who are suffering under this administration? How many more sympathetic trump supporters will you profile before you look at us? Normal, engaged people? People who are appalled and afraid for what has become of our country? I won’t hold my breath.
9
Lots of bile directed toward Mr. Hagerman in these comments, perhaps some of it deserved. But I ask, how many of these commenters, centrally concerned with their careers and offspring, are devoting the lion's share of their funds and energies to ecological restoration of a piece of this beleaguered and declining Earth? I would bet very few. The problem of Trump is the merest fraction of the problem of a dying biosphere which needs every bit of help it can get.
7
Somewhere near his 50th birthday, Erik Hagerman took stock of his life and decided that he'd had enough of the fast lane. He he left Portland and his corporate gig in digital media to move back to Ohio. Thus, before The Blockade, there was The Retreat. His Trump-free existence is only possible in a larger zone of relative quiet he found in Ohios vs. socially conscious Portland.
As Hagerman demonstrates, artfully ignoring Trump is possible, but Trump is like an astronomical black hole which, instead of bending light, bends democracy and subverts the norms of the presidency. Still, while Hagerman has constructed a parallel universe, people near and dear to him are genuinely affected by Trump's occupation of the Oval Office. Surely Hagerman's sister in Charlottesville would like to share her experiences and concerns since the summer; and perhaps his mother wonders what Trump may yet do to Medicare and other social support for the elderly.
Erik Hagerman is free to ignore Trump, but his ignorance comes at a significant price for his family, friends, and even strangers. I understand the impetus behind The Retreat and buying The Lake: Hagerman seeks a more authentic life. However, true authenticity also requires living in this moment. We do not need to know about every Trumpian tweet and non sequitur, but we must remain alert to the deforming power of Trump, and what it will take to restore democracy once he exits the White House. It is time Erik Hagerman ended The Blockade.
6
I found this story intriguing. Mr. Hagerman strikes me as an extremely gifted iconoclast. Never does anything half way. His minimalist life (no mate, kids, social and cultural stimulation, interest in wealth accumulation) and minimalist art have been precursors to his minimalist news decision. He is a doer/achiever. And like many of us plagued by embarrassment and worry over Trump”’s election and administration, Mr. Hagerman has found a unique way to manage his sense of impotence and guilt by leaving a legacy. While I favor lighting a candle instead of ignoring the darkness, he has creatively (and obsessively) found a way too counter the darkness.
6
First of all, the freedom to live like this anywhere on earth is rare, in that most places are very crowded, and few have the financial resources to be removed from the general population. However, it takes both a certain personality, age, and the current climate over the last several decades to realize that the human of the human animal to fight over land for any number of reasons around the world, has resulted in death, and refugee status for many including millions of children. I grew up on the east side of the Rockies near the Canadian border, camping, and trout fishing, and then later moved back to the Midwest, where gardening became my saving grace, so to speak, and still is today at the age of almost 70. I do believe in speaking up, and being an activist, at the local level, as often those who have been elected are not the brightest bulbs, and they do need to be reminded in person at city council or school board meetings, what good policy is, and how to move forward to pay for it.
1
Mr. Hagerman is walking the walk more than most of who consider ourselves politically engaged. Far better that he produce an art project with his 45 acres than sell another million pointless shoes. Will he be our next Thoreau?
5
Opting out is the ultimate in rich tech bro privilege, I guess... meanwhile, the rest of us still have to live in the world...
10
As Sondheim says, "You gotta have a gimmick." I was wondering why the NYT made this man the subject of a featured article--News Flash! Wealthy liberal, having discovered in the election that he had no idea what a large part of America really felt, decides to put his head in the sand and *really* not know what we feel. What on earth is newsworthy about this? Like he's the only American to decide to say 'lalala I'm not listening?" How did the NYT even find him if he is supposedly so offline?
Then I got to the end. Ohhhh. This is an unpaid marketing campaign promoting his art & environmental work. It's his gimmick. For some reason - probably some backdoor quid pro quo deal that the upper 1% is so fond of - this man gets featured here to promote traffic to his art.
I find so many 'progressive' liberals to be the most hypocritical people I've ever known. They're filled, like this man, with extremely wealthy insider privileged people sneering at blue collar workers for the sin of wanting jobs (obviously we're 'racist' or stupid if we voted for Trump)--and then basking in that privilege to get what they want. They pretend power is race, mock & sneer at the lower classes if they get too uppity as long as they're white-- because then they don't have to change a thing. If it's systemic racism, then people like Hagerman can continue getting their crony deals while pretending they're righteous. It would be laughable if it weren't so toxic.
8
I read the news today, oh boy [almost]
MOISHE DAVIDOWITZ·THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2017
Perhaps because she knows how much entertainment I’ve gotten from it for lo these many years, the lovely Sarah has urged me to start giving some of my attention to the news again. So I started this morning by glancing briefly at the headlines of the NY Times before moving it to the recycling pile. We’ll see how it goes--how much damage will exposure to national news do to the state of Newsless Inner Peace that I’ve struggled so hard to achieve since November 8th. I was beginning to see the light.
Well I'm beginning to see the light.
There are problems in these times
But none of them are mine
Baby, I'm beginning to see the light.
--Lou Reed, Velvet Underground, 1968
Ignorance and inaction - the lastest shade of white privilege. Lucky him.
5
So what do you(the NYT) do about people that have not forgotten Glenn Thrush? It's pretty clear you think you can just declare right and wrong by fiat. What do you do about the people who inconveniently remind you that you can't?
You have to fire him at this point. If you try to let him leave with dignity then this issue will follow you around forever.
1
mr hagerman's ignorance may be more studied (or so he would have this most gullible timesman believe) than the common ignorance, (summed in the op ed and cable couch media) that has us fuming and fussing in our baskets, if you will, of indentity...the smouldering "pluribus," while the "unum" burns.
anyone who has had experience with 60s vegetarian who snuck out for fatburgers after the village was asleep knows that this character has his own version of blockade runners (how can you talk about the cavs without an ear for lebron's political fulminations?)
give them man credit though, he or his reps got to the sunday times for more space than the nation's homeless have had in a week...only the trump bash, another emblem of willful ignorance (count the geniuses who know exactly how to handle the nokos) got more ink.
a pig farmer in metro clothing?
...please.
1
I understand what you're saying and some valid criticisms but the NY Times did feature a front-page and in-depth story on the homeless just last Sunday (the story of Nakesha). And longer than this one.
4
"(how can you talk about the cavs without an ear for lebron's political fulminations?) " - It says he watches with the sound off.
Sheesh. Kids, don't grow up to be This Guy; unless, in the process of doing so, you have so changed the world that everyone can be This Guy.
2
I think that Hagerman is over the edge on this, but I can see where he's coming from. After the election I was one of millions who wanted to dig a hole and hide but it didn't last. Not completely anyway. I still read the Times every day because I believe it's important to stay informed of the world. I believe it's part of my democratic responsibility to keep abreast of current events. I have always voted and plan on continuing to do so. I wouldn't have it any other way. But I think I understand him.
Some people just have to take more time to gather their strength. He's doing what he can. I guess.
I don't do instant messaging, Facebook, Twitter... any of the myriad ways to stay informed/bothered throughout the day. And I don't read the columnist who conjecture (seemingly endlessly) about what might happen. After all the predictions of Clinton's victory fell through, I'm done with them. And polls. Just tell me what's actually happening, what people actually saying and doing, and you can include actually scheduled events. But don't tell me about your predictions for the future. No more disappointments, thank you very much.
4
Thank you for sharing this 'experiment'. Nature is a wonderful healer, so all you readers take a walk without your earbuds and be grateful our beautiful planet is resilient as she is.
If you're frightened by the crazy decisions coming out of D.C. write and call your reps. Boycott the polluters with your wallet. Everyone whose 'legacy' includes supporting our president needs to be reminded hourly of their complicity in the demise of our democracy.
4
I am convinced that a major reason for Donald Trump's election is that those of voted for him were largely un-educated or undereducated, many of them proudly so. Cutting yourself off the news and current events is the wrong way to go and paves the way for even more unqualified people to gain access to office and to power. The only way to maintain our democracy is for knowledgeable people to remain involved, help select suitable candidates and, at the very least, to vote.
7
I think that Hiding from the world is one thing, but knowing what you appreciate is something else.
But after talking with our fifth born,her teenage mind thought that an adult taking a “blockade” position is more self serving even if he is leaving a blessed sanctuary to the future. She said, “Where would we be if there was no Prague Spring, or 65’ March on Washington? If we don’t act upon hope, then we must accept the consequences of a hopeless existence. “
6
Well, I don't mind if anyone opts to tune out the news, whether Trump or anything else. What I do object to, is that everyone around you has to change their behavior to suit your "blocade", which should only be personal. Anyway, seems like he is not used to accomodating anyone but himself.
5
Mr. Hagerman has made a choice.To protect himself. From numbers. Which increasingly represent unnamed people. Words, which are related to, increasingly, as if they are actual whatever they describe or target. A caveat" The map is not the territory. The word is not IT! Graphics, easily photoshopped. Offering alt-visuals to the surrealism of alt-facts. Freedom of choice... From knowing about...From understanding...From created insights. From moments of derived wisdom which...The socio-eco-political world he chooses not to engage with at any level continues. In its daily, toxic, infectious WE-THEY format, violating selected "the others" whom he surely knew about before his successful BLOCKADE. Perhaps even engaged with. THEN. And the WE-THEY sustainers also make choices. Daily. Classifiable, perhaps, as willful blindness of man-made, tradition-based, scenarios of sites and sights, which could traumatize even the most resilient of US. Willful deafness of man-inflicted human pains of named, and nameless, "others." Some, muted by their unaided efforts.Willful ignorance about ongoing, enabled, dehumanizing, stigmatizing, discriminating, excluding words and deeds. Which should never have been! Not in a menschlich life space, neighborhood, community, and global habitat which seeds and harvests mutual trust among the known as well as the stranger. And mutual respect. Signs and deeds of mutual caring. And mutual help, when and if needed.Freedom of choice for necessary changes?
Much of the nation has been gripped in a kind of mass insanity since the election that actually began from the first days of the campaign. Leaving aside trolls in social media and the influence of foreign sabateurs, the mainstream cable media set the stage for the demonizing of Donald Trump since he first came down the escalator to announce his candidacy. Every utterance this man has made was twisted into its worst possible interpretation: normal defensive responses to criticism are always framed as "attacks," frustration with leakers is always "fury," internal debate is "chaos." I have a hard time feeling sorry for the anxiety and neurosis that has affected so many Americans, because it has largely been self-inflicted. A willingness to hear out the president without the filter of journalists who have hated on him since Day 1 would be a step toward sanity, and truly help the country.
4
Makes me think of certain state behaviors following a political sea change: California threatens to rage-quit the electorate when Republicans win, Texas threatens the same when Dems take power.
I actually respect this man's choice though, since it reflects my own when it comes to talentless "stars" co-opting public attention for monetary gain (here's looking at you, Kardashians). As a political centrist however, I wish we could all think beyond these extreme philosophies and have a more fruitful public conversation than the one we have, e.g., either the Federal govt. is responsible for everything from race relations to healthcare in Louisianna or it isn't; either we accommodate illegal immigration or we're all xenophobes; either we fund education or the military. I could go on... but y'all should make like this guy and not listen to me since all these musings seem to generate these days is outrage.
2
This is precisely what the "good Germans" did during WWII. They ignored the world around them, the slave labor factory camps near every major town, the human-scented smoke pouring out of the crematoria. This is not what a responsible adult would do.
10
I too enjoyed a self-imposed media fast, as I call it, until recently since I need to educate myself on the upcoming midterms.
2
Living a life of sublime ignorance is precisely what is wrong with the world. When people live life in the bubble of their own existence they never learn the empathy and understanding that leads to peaceful coexistence.
6
Two questions:
Has this lake and the surrounding area been tested for toxic heavy metals and other by-products of the strip mining? I would hesitate to sell this area as a swimming hole before being sure it wouldn't kill the guests.
And secondly, how many more of these wealthy and educated people are 'checking out' all over America? By leaving the process, unfortunately, the best and brightest with the funds to fight back against Trump are abandoning the rest of us less affluent folks to muddle through each day trying to stay informed.
I could be spending the cost of this digital NYT edition on something else more important, like food, or my retirement fund. Several hundred dollars a year to get 'real news' is alot of money for some of us out here in small town America struggling to get by. But unfortunately, when we are surrounded by Fox and Sinclair stations and far from a big city (like this fellow is) not all of us find it to be idyllic and relaxing - we struggle to find work that supports us, and we feel isolated and alone in our politics.
12
This man has just swung too far to the opposite side. While I agree that obsessing over politics - especially national politics - is unhealthy and unproductive, it's also unhealthy to shut yourself off from the outside world. There needs to be a balance struck between complete isolation and information overload. Watching CNN for 8 hours does not make you more informed. Watching one hour of PBS news does. Our "news" sources have largely become entertainment and political commentary vehicles, not information dissemination. Abstaining from CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC is an excellent idea if you value your sanity. Find a news source that presents the facts with little bias, and read it once a day.
6
I, too, did something extreme after the election, largely removing myself from civilization for 8 months. On the first evening after the election I camped by a lake alone except for a man and his dog who sat peacefully looking out over the still water. A part of me felt it would be terribly disrespectful to disturb this scene, but another part of me was so overwhelmed by the election results and, what I believed to be the most cataclysmic political event in our nation’s history, that I approached the man and asked him what he thought about the election.
He was seemed happy for the company and said he despised both candidates and did not vote in the election. After having listened on talk radio to countless evangelicals express their view of Trump’s election “God has answered my prayers,” I felt this was progress and didn’t pursue the conversation further.
But over a year into our national nightmare, I have to state that the author of this otherwise intriguing article failed his readers by asking Mr. Hagerman this fundamental question: does he intend to continue to vote?
8
I, too, did something extreme after the election, largely removing myself from civilization for 8 months. On the first evening after the election I camped by a lake alone except for a man and his dog who sat peacfully looking out over the still water. A part of me felt it would be terribly disrespectful to disturb this scene, but another part of me was so overwhelmed by the election results and, what I believed to be the most cataclysmic political event in our nation’s history, that I approached the man and asked him what he thought about the election.
He was seemed happy for the company and said he despised both candidates and did not vote in the election. After having listened on talk radio to countless evangelicals express their view of Trump’s election “God has answered my prayers,” I felt this was progress and didn’t pursue the conversation further.
But over a year into our national nightmare, I have to state that the author of this otherwise intriguing article failed his readers by asking Mr. Hagerman this fundamental question: does he intend to continue to vote?
2
It must be a measure of where I'm at with the world these days--I am sitting here with my breakfast, wondering why I don't do the same thing.
12
The Blockade seems extreme to me, but at one point in my life I lived in rural Colorado without radio and TV reception and read the Denver Post once a week on Sundays. I was not ignorant about current events and did not feel deprived in any way. Now I check the news once or twice a day (the Times on line in the morning and sometimes the PBS news hour at night). That’s enough for me, and I cannot understand why anyone would want the news pushed to them on their cell phone 24/7. Does it really make them better informed, or is it just a nervous habit to allay deep-seated fears of missing out?
6
this is the best article, i have read , about freedom from what other people view as subject matter they feel is important for us to know.
As ex farmer, the nature environment we live in has all we need to be satisfied and challenged.
9
Mr. Hagerman might want to at least monitor the local news, he might find out that Oxford Coal has completed the permitting process to open up a big 'ol surface mine, right down the road from him, that will undo decades of work to restore the Sunday Creek watershed.
44
He’s awful fond of Stripped Mind Pond —
Wouldn’t live to think without it.
But life is strange with Global Change.
Can the Pond escape? I doubt it.
10
Does haberman vote.
8
There are a number of common threads in the 665 (count at 6:52 a.m.) comments.
Among them are comments by people who watch the news but don't watch a variety of news sources. Many don't want to step outside their comfort zones to see what other opinions might offer. I think most NYT readers are 1 percenters, that few of them know any working-class people - mfg plant production employees, police, etc.
A number of comments mention 'wealthy white people' as if only white people are wealthy. They appear to not know that one of the wealthiest people in the world is Carlos Slim Helu (Mexico) $67 billion; or Jack Ma (China) $39 billion; Mukesh Ambani (India) $40 billion; Ma Huateng (China) $45 billion. I'll stop here but the list is long and the majority of the world's billionaires are self-made. Sixty-seven percent of the 2018 list are self-made billionaires and a record 255 women are included in this year's rankings.
And since so many NYT readers seem unaware of the fact that there are many women who are self-made billionaires: "There are 72 self-made (women), which is just really exciting because that's always been a huge lag," Kroll said.
Chinese entrepreneur Zhou Qunfei is the richest self-made woman on the list with a net worth of $7.8 billion. (The richest self-made woman on the list used to be billionaire Oprah Winfrey.)
This should be exciting news to those readers who think only white people and/or white men are wealthy!
10
what's the point? show off knowledge? search those names on NY Times and you'll find NY Times has not held back from informing its readers... how do you explain 35% keep supporting Trump in spite of proven lies and deceit. The one word answer is tribalism. And what's the color of the tribe?
1
The point is simple: many comments mention "white privilege", as if only whites have privilege. Wealth confers privilege; education confers privilege; being born into an intact family and reared with both parents confers privilege; being born into a family where one or both parents are college grads confers privilege.
You mention tribalism. The colors of the tribes comprise white, black, brown, and ivory. Webster's defines tribalism as: 1. The organization, culture, or beliefs of a tribe. 2. A strong feeling of identity with and loyalty to one's tribe or group.
We are all members of our own tribes: Irish Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Americans etc.; Ivy league grads; law school grads; NFL team supporters; NAACP, La Raza, etc.
I'm happy you mention 'proven lies and deceit'. Does your memory extend to lies and deceit by Bill Clinton? George Bush? Barack Obama? Or do you actually think only Donald Trump is guilty of lies and deceit? As a moderate registered Democrat, I could list lies and deceit from 1992 forward if space allowed.
There's Bill Clinton's whopper: "NAFTA means jobs, American jobs and good-paying American jobs. If I didn't believe that, I wouldn't support this agreement."
Result: 1 million jobs lost, higher income inequality.
There's Barack Obama's whopper: "TPP, a trade deal that puts American workers first and makes sure we write the rules of the road for trade in the 21st century."
I shall not bury my head in the sand. All these outrageous, other-worldly, and just plain dumb things that Trump says or does will just further strengthen my resolve to make sure that he as well as his enablers (establishment Republicans) will be defeated in all upcoming elections, local and federal, for all eternity.
12
Yep, that's what's gonna happen - you all will vote in more neo-liberal corporate democrats that will continue to fleece the country and continue to wage war in the Middle East and will continue to rob the poor to service the rich. Yep, thanks...that's just what we need /s
What a self-indulgent mission. I thought this was from The Onion at first and laughed through it and then I realized it was ostensibly real news but couldn't help but continue to laugh through the rest of it.
Liberals might feel glum (at the very least) over Trump's election, but articles like this one show how little they have learned about the serious deficits that the Democratic Party displayed in that election and how little people like Mr. Hagerman actually understand about why people voted for Trump. It is simplistic reasoning that Trump voters are all backwards, backwoods bigots who bought into a media star's flashy campaign and ridiculous twitter feeds. Mainstream media- NYT included- did a wretched job covering the issues that many Trump voters cared dearly about (i.e. the economy, loss of jobs, national pride- not identity politics) and Mr. Hagerman's blackout suggests he still has no understanding of why the Dems lost. While I concur that distancing oneself form the white noise of mainstream media does seem like a reasonable choice, a total blackout is just caving to ignorance.
I would suggest that he remove his headphones and start listening to some of those political conversations that he finds so distasteful. Learning to listen respectfully to a variety of opinions and understand who they come from and why they are stated as they are seems to me to be an equally valuable part of being an engaged member of a civil society.
13
That's all great Erik. But will you vote?
8
Will he vote? When DT is removed, will he come back?
6
What’s NOT to like?
1 “I had been paying attention to the news for decades”
2 I worked 12-14 hour days for Nike (S. Director Global bal Digital Commerce (previously @ Walmart & Disney)”
3 Spent years in Brooklyn warehouses, San Francisco tech bubbles and Nike-land in Portland, Ore.”
4 Three yrs ago had saved enough $ to change his lifestyle.
5 His mother lives nearby
So NOW he is giving a unsolicited GIFT to society:
Protecting the environment (wetlands are key to that)
and
Preserving land for his town, state, US
Few newsreaders, bloggers, etc can attest to that.
Give him a break.
32
QUICK POLL: Who is a greater threat to democracy: an uninformed person such as Mr. Hagerman who doesn't vote or someone who does read factually-inaccurate partisan news and votes based on that information? Please reply below and state briefly why.
9
I think you might be a greater threat to democracy as you seem to be advocating for censorship :)
1
If this guy is completely cut off from the media, how did you find him?
12
I question the editorial decision to put off mentioning Erik Hagerman's environmental work until the article's end. This allows the writer to set Hagerman up as eccentric, privileged, and useless, graf after graf. Most people do not read to the end of articles.
Those of us who do get to see that Hagerman is an artist and philanthropist. He is able to make art because he's privileged, a white man with money... but also because he devotes himself to communing with nature and making work. How do you suppose "Walden" got written, or "A Pilgrim at Tinker Creek"? Or many great works of art and literature? By that same process—a spiritual process that cannot occur when one is mainlining tweets all day.
The man is also donating his land as an artistic/environmental sanctuary. Sure, he could sell everything, donate the money to a liberal charity, and plug himself into Facebook all day... but why should we want him to? Our country is packed to the gills with privileged retirees who fail to lift a finger for art, the environment, or politics. Perhaps each of them ought to be pilloried in the New York Times.
Additionally, every judgy reader here should donate all their money beyond rent and basic food to a worthy cause. The time they presently sink into re-sharing online petitions and foaming with indignation can be redirected to building houses for the homeless. No martinis, folks. No movies, no shoes. Just poverty & commitment. Ready to do that? No? Then why should Erik Hagerman?
19
Hagerman "is able to make art because he is a privileged white man with money"? Think about the lack of intelligence and common sense in that simple-minded thought. Just for a second think about how such thinking excludes the sheer diversity of artists, their socioeconomic position, their ethnic background. Think for a moment about the sheer plurality of artist and art. An epiphany is just around the corner.
2
What an ingenious way to avoid the annoyance of others' pain and suffering.
Does Rip van Winkle plan to join us for the midterm elections, or is citizenship too much of a bother?
8
This is Bourgeois privilege on stunning display.
11
I don't get it. Whats the end game here? Is he going to do this forever, if so, maybe he should become Amish or something.
1
Since he is so disdainful of his quarterly financial reports, I hope his money manager is not engaged in any thuggery regarding Mr. Hagerman's account.
5
His brother can handle his quarterly financial reports for him tho.
1
Tried something like this between the election and the inauguration. When Le Grand Orange took the oath it seemed time to get busy.
5
Sounds more like "The Man Who Cares Too Little" to me.
6
OK, we get it. But there was no need to manufacture a story to fit an anti-Trump idea. Liberal news fakery, and I'm a liberal.
3
Is there any difference between this guy and a member of Trump's base.
6
Hey, if disenfranchised poor people don't vote, why should he have to? Maybe everyone who voted for Trump because they Didn't Owe Anybody Anything will follow his example and go back under their rocks next time around.
4
This man does not read any news but he surely agrees to be interviewed and published in a major newspaper. And surely, Trump likes those types of defeatists.
4
An antediluvian? Not quite. He reminds one of Edward Everett Hale's "A Man Without a Country." Not the way most of us are or want to be. Is ignorance bliss?
2
Let's see him maintain his blockade when his power goes out.
2
Amazing. He has decided that he can make the world go away if he "buries his head" in the sand. It does appear that his stress level has been lowered.
5
Erik Hagerman discovered "The Lake" and all of its bucolic virtues.
Shades of Henry David Thoreau!
2
With both houses of Congress in his party's awful hands, and the GOP having fully revealed itself to be his enablers, and living in a blue state with representatives who I know will fruitlessly vote against his evils, I know enough about Donald Trump to know that keeping up with his every terrible move will do nothing but cause anger, helplessness and frustration. I know enough about him to vote against him in the coming elections though, and to volunteer when I can to mobilize other voters to do the same. This is hardly ignorance.
1
Ironic, isn't it, that Mr. Hagerman won't be able to read this story.
Maybe if he read it, he'd realize that an uninformed citizenry is exactly what autocrats and dictators depend on.
4
I'm wondering if he plans on voting again and how he will know whom to vote for.
1
He's obviously worked hard and had a create career which has allowed him to do this. That doesn't make him privileged.
5
Sure it does. Privilege does not preclude hard work.
1
It's like Atlas Shrugged for the left! The main difference from the right wing version seems to be his insistence that others comply with and support his self-imposed, "self care" exile. Would that all of us could have our scones and eat them, too.
4
When I was a kid, there was a popular playground expression: "Some you win. Some you lose. Some get rained out. But you suit up for all of them."
Mr. Hagerman isn't suiting up. I think his life is less rich as a result of not engaging -- or even paying attention -- to political life. Ignorance isn't bliss. It's just ignorance. I hope Mr. Hagerman chooses to get back in the game.
4
Very tempting, this option.
But, irresponsible.
3
Mr. Hagerman is doing what many of us would love to do. It's healthy but dangerous. Certainly hope he votes in November.
1
In my view the world has problem solvers, problem makers, and those who are just along for the ride - better known as freeloaders.
To each his own ..... for such is life.
3
I don't blame him, living in the bombastic Trump era is not easy.
2
Probably a smart move to avoid the toxicity of political news, most of which is salacious and engineered to trigger fear and paranoia on one group of people and uncivilized gloating from another.
2
It was not mentioned but does this person vote? He must not, that would require him to read up on the candidates, etc. I do not see anything noble about using your white privilege to abdicate your responsibility as a citizen of a country that gave you the opportunity to be rich enough to do this.
2
I heard that cocaine users, like heroin users, will never fully recover from their addiction. Even completing their rehab programs they will be easily seduced to take the substance again later in their lives.
I am not sure if this is true (someone please enlighten me) but it sounds truly frightening.
The gentleman’s life of abstinence from current affairs,(and especially politics), is notable for the efforts required to isolate and buffer his own daily experience. Much as cloistered religious/ spiritual sects, the desire to eliminate a particular “noise “ of humanity is understandable from a ethos of seeking a deeper reality, but actually seems to only obtain an obsessively quality of ignorance. The adage of “man by nature is political” becomes applicable in real terms as the gentleman strains to impose a bubble around himself and likelwise all who he allows to be in contact with him. This creates an unreal sterility which is ultimately and ironically a bit similar to the folks who surrounded themselves in self-affirming narrow blinders of opinion masquerading as news.
Disappointment with the human experiences of disagreement, unthinking anger and prejudice, coupled with loutish, ignoramt behavior and cynical advocacy is not corrected by disengagement, but ultimately enhanced and allowed to become the norm, without corrective or active countering of the unfortunate and indeed dangerous aspects of human behavior. To not engage in solutions only strengthens the problems.
4
You write intelligently and present valid arguments, but unfortunately I think much of this boils down to human nature which has not and never will change. We may change the players, the tools on hand, and even some of the rules but, in the end, human nature will always be what it is, and I find it a useless futile endeavor to assume everything in our own era is so relevant or even ground breaking.
Kings comes and kings go. I am a science-fiction writer and thoroughly disgusted by politics . To me, most of it now is an ever-changing hydra: cut off one head and three more just the same pop up to take its place. I would rather just write my sci-fi and ignore politics as most of it's disgusting, short-sighted, and/or ignorant and naive at best, deliberately evil at worst.
1
I wonder how he is going to vote in November, meaningfully, without knowing what have been going on for the past two years. Or if he is going to vote? If he does not, that would be an abdication of his civic responsibility.
I would agree it is unhelpful being "merely" a news junkie. In a democracy, information is supposed to support the right action. If we just "consume" news but never act, then we are not any better than those who act with wrong information.
He sounds like somebody who has the intelligence and resources for political actions. Given his unencumbered life, why doesn't he run for office, be part of the solution?
I think anybody who is in the position to act but choose to walk away disillusioned, does not care enough, What is the famous quote from Edmund Burke?
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."
Why did he agree to this article? Is he proud of his inaction?
3
Remember the Iran hostage crisis? The hostages were held 444 days and when they got home they wanted news, news, news. They read everything they could get their hands that was written during the time they were held.
4
Choosing to ignore the danger in your environment is not a winning strategy. Had our ancestors done so, we would not exist.
3
This is ignorance bought through the privilege of wealth. Hagerman is a modern-day know nothing, just the latest iteration of an American tendency to close one's eyes to the latest unpleasantness and run to nature as the other, as a supposed world apart, bought in this case by decades of profit from activities that Hagerman now claims to be estranged. Ripping up the quarterlies is not the same thing as cutting the cord.
3
Anybody else finding humor (and irony) on the 'news' reporting on the guy who opted out of news. If a tree falls in the woods......
I totally understand not wanting to be 'force fed' news commentary. As we all know there is a vast difference in reporting and pretending to report while really feeding an opinion. I don't watch TV for that very reason, however to remain completely uninformed about the world around (is his choice of course) seems to me to be completely petulant, immature, and ultimately ignorant.
And of course in the end his personal protest is falling on his own deaf ears, whilst affecting the behaviors of everyone he encounters. The coffee shop pandering to wishes in order to 'satisfy a customer', his friends and family being controlled by his 'experiment'. His desire to remain uninformed has become a selfish journey that impacts anyone who wants to maintain a relationship with him on any level. It's a personal totalitarian world he's created; selfish, self centered, and controlling.
But still....it made me laugh!
2
He should get the water quality of that lake checked before he swims in it any more, given that it resulted from a strip mine and could be laden with heavy metals and dangerous chemicals. Seriously, if the author or someone who knows him sees this message, please make sure he gets the water tested if he hasn't already.
5
Have mulled this guy's choice(ful) situation over. How is this a unique story, really, other than that he has made an artistic to-do by enforcing an attention gathering, self-imposed "News Blockade"? People of privilege do this stuff all the time, always have. He's a privilege guy enjoying and acting upon his right to not know, not be bothered. This is an absolutely American (among many) lifestyle. He's just minding his own biz, making art, restoring ecology... what if everyone did this? Oh, everyone cannot...
2
I marched with Martin Luther King. We sang about how we'll all be together again someday. I watched in dismay as the Democrats gave up on that dream and exploited blacks as a voting block, but did nothing for them but kept them down. Though I am white, I lived in the ghetto much of my life. I didn't notice many white politicians there. I didn't run away from anything but kept myself informed and read the newspapers everyday. I voted for Trump.
3
Mr. Hagerman is a performance artist; the running title of his most recent piece is "White Privilege."
Also, democracy is earned, and requires an engaged populace. I'm guessing Mr. Hagerman will be among the thousands of American citizens staying home in the midterm elections, and in 2020.
2
What is most astounding to me is not the article but the number of comments written by people who feel entitled to judge how Erik Hagerman should live his life. Fortunately, he will escape their desire for control of his autonomy too. Kudos.
3
Shutting off the news, living in a bubble is a very narcissistic existence. Ignorance is not bliss unless it harmful. Not opening ones eyes to the harm being done to so many in our country because it doesn’t effect him identifies the white world of privilege he lives in.
2
If this guy is successful with his plan and ultimately donates the restored land to his local community as his own “Walden Pond” project, I daresay his contibution will be much more meaningful and long-lasting than if he spent his days stressed out and yelling at a TV screen. Good for him.
That said, if we ALL did that, this country would be in more serious trouble than it already is. But it’s nice to know that there are people out there doing other things besides being held hostage by the current horrors of the daily news cycle. A reminder that life goes on, I guess, sometimes in spite of us.
5
I’m a native of Athens County, where Mr. Hagerman resides. On Nov. 8, 2016, I knocked on doors in the Glouster area. I might’ve even knocked on his, who knows. Many of his neighbors voted for DJT, while others didn’t bother voting at all. Some of them didn’t have rides to the church that served as their polling location (though we did offer to drive them.)
I don’t fault them for not participating in a system that did not appear to acknowledge their existence. But I think about Mr. Hagerman, and the resources available to him. And how he chooses to squander them on personal comfort. In the same situation, I don’t think his neighbors would do the same.
15
If we think about the world we live in, staying informed is not longer enough. We are inundated with information and opinions everywhere we turn. This is not healthy for our mind. We no longer have quite moments for contemplative reflection. To preserve our sanity and happiness, it may take extreme measures. I have taken smaller steps, blocking Facebook and news apps. While I have not gone as extreme as the gentleman in this article, I am more content and less stressed with the world in which I live. He has found his Waldron pond. I hope more of us do as well.
4
A reminder that the natter and chatter that stuffs the news cycle sausage is not necessarily part of the essential food groups that we need to stay healthy.
If you follow the stock market, then it becomes your focal point and it's bumps and churns cause similar effects to your head and stomach--while the balance of people go along with their everday lives unaffected.
Dismissive commentary about this man's choice is surprising. Unsure how his focusing on the news is going to make more of a difference than nurturing his creativity and shaping his environment. Seems to be a pretty powerful life meditation v. choosing to have one's splinter of decency continually needled by the news of the day.
If the news of the day is to move us, it should do so in the form of right action v. riling us to wrong reaction (emotional).
I appreciated reading this man's story. A reminder that when the circus is in town, we don't always need to attend.
15
Agreed. My guess is the majority of the folks complaining about his choices are doing less to improve the planet than he is.
5
This is ridiculous. Clearly. But...
Honestly, political discourse isn’t really discourse these days; it’s more tribal warfare. Corporations purchase politicians to do their bidding; constituents don’t matter much. Until the next election, the left isn’t playing from a position of power in national politics. Maybe it makes sense to focus on what we can change, closer to home?
So this dude is raising pigs and taking care of his land. The rest of us watch 24/7 news drown our sorrows in sheet cake. Who is crazy again?
18
Well, good for Hagerman. I did kind of the same thing but it was 9 years ago, right after we elected a President whom I felt I could trust to do the right thing most of the time. When that was over, I jumped back in and got involved. I donated what money I could, I called my representatives and told them what I wanted them to do, I marched in DC on January 21, 2017, and more. It is because of millions of people like me that the Resistance exists and that there is hope that things will get better for all of us who have seen our rights and security erode in the past 15 months.
I agree that that many Americans have an obsession with social media and news that is often not helpful or healthy BUT a withdrawal from all of it isn't particularly admirable either. Find a balance! It's possible to be involved, to know what's going on, to do what you can to change things for the better, and still make time for restorative breaks from the stress of all of that.
We're social animals in the end. We all need to help each other to survive. I'm glad that others who have the kind of money needed to live like Hagerman choose instead to use it to work toward making things better for all of us.
12
What’s interesting is his desire, in the end, to contribute. That instinct is truly human. Timeless, borderless, universally human. Spiritual!
17
With much effort, Mr. Hagerman has achieved the awareness of the average Trump voter!
27
Sounds to me like a good idea if one wants preserve his/her sanity.
I watch the news in disbelief every night and wonder if this is really happening.
And every night I decide I will quit watching.
And yet, here I am still responding to news about the Trump "presidency".
24
Emmanuel Kant's test of whether a behaviour is moral is "would it be alright if everybody behaved like this?". In the case of permanently blinding oneself to the behaviour of one's elected leaders, and enforcing others to comply with this in their communications with you, I think the answer is clearly: no, it wouldn't be ok if everybody behaved like this.
However I do believe that a lot of us news junkies could drastically reduce our quantity of news consumption, with little resulting negative effect on either our own or others' lives (or indeed on our voting intentions).
Mr. Hagerman is using that extra time and mental energy to focus on a constructive, tangible ecological project in his community. This definitely passes the Kant moral behaviour test above - yes, it would be ok if everybody behaved like this. I think then there is something positive to take away from Mr. Hagerman's somewhat extreme example. But hey, that's what news is all about - extremes. Another reason to consider reducing one's consumption.
16
Kant was using this as a test of morality. This "blockade" is not a question of morality. It's simply a life choice. No moral issue here.
I envy Mr. Hagerman and I would be inaterested how he feels after the experiment is over and finds out what he has missed. At the same time I have to acknowledge that his assets, race, and gender limit him to what he personally has at stake with this President and administration. He doesn’t have to worry about his reproductive rights, he doesn’t have to worry about healthcare and if he is able to afford it. He doesn’t have to worry about kids not getting healthcare through CHIP. He does not need to worry about a 1.3 trillion dollar tax cut to the wealthy and perhaps will even benefit from it. He doesn’t have to worry about DACA children being deported. None of this is his fault but it is not acknowledged in the article. It is easy to walk away when you have nothing to lose.
67
This man’s “experiment” could be entertaining if not for its utter absurdity. Like Richard Fedder of Fort Lee, NJ, he actually BELONGS in New Jersey – or living alone on a pig farm in southwestern Ohio.
It reminds me of an experiment I once undertook to understand the nature of addiction, which puzzled me at the time. At the outset of my freshman year at college, at age eighteen, I intentionally addicted myself to cigarettes, planning to quit on my nineteenth birthday, about eight months off, to experience the effects. Well, it’s been over 45 years since I began that experiment, I’m still smoking cigarettes, I certainly now DO understand the nature of addiction, but I’ve developed a critical contempt of ignorant, indeed stupid, experimentation. I see from the used ashtray on his bed table that he smokes, as well. Obviously, for more than one reason, he hasn’t yet drawn the same conclusions as I about stupidity driving experimentation.
My only excuse is that I was eighteen, an age at which most of us would have to admit to our share of stupidity. Mr. Fedder … uh … MR. HAGERMAN, at 53, has no such excuse and should know better.
He’s welcome to The Lake, his boring days, his triple-shot whole milk lattes, his cigarettes and his entertaining ignorance. In the end, but for a NYT featured op-ed, the man doesn’t exist. And, sadly, that doesn’t seem to be an enormous loss.
Somehow, I think Trump is safe, at least from threats emanating from southwestern Ohio pig farms.
22
Just a brief observation that ash trays can be useful as more than just ash trays, such as coin holders.
https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/campaign/tips/quit-smoking/?s_cid=OSH_tips_D...
I am amused by how you unconsciously changed "southeastern" to "southwestern." The real irony, however, is that your post, with its mantra-like repetition of the word "stupid," is yet one more reason to take seriously the policy of avoiding news sources.
2
Resisting Normalcy:
LOOK at the ashtray. There's a filtered cigarette but in it.
1
Mr. Hagerman has chosen a quasi-monastic existence outside of a monastery, and focuses his time on a worthwhile project. I find no fault, and much to envy in his choices and don't begrudge him the assets that make it possible. Addiction to the daily news feed concerning issues that we can do nothing about just makes the heart sore. He hasn't said that he's stopped voting, so I don't understand why some readers are upset with him. Yes, his"privilege" is enabling this retreat, but so what? We could use a few more low-consumption, low profile types like him who seem inoculated against affluenza.
34
I live in the country, walk on the beach, watch the news, limit myself to one hour news in the morning, glance at the papers.The NYT and local and then live my life in the real world in my own backyard so to speak on a big piece of land with neighbors who are far away. Sometimes I go days without speaking to other people unless family or friends. I refuse to discuss politics any more . I love the peace and quiet of it all. I am the master of my fate....
20
I can relate exactly. This man went to all this effort when just about every new parent has a pop-culture amnesiac blackout the first few years of their kids life. Been there, done that.
8
Haggerman is part of established American tradition. Perhaps best known is Thoreau, but the list could include any of a number of utopian communes, as well as individuals as varied as Robinson Jeffers and Gertrude Stein and J.D. Salinger.
The man has the means and talent to practice the morality of hiding well. I salute him and wish him the luck of others so moved, especially that of William and Polia Pillin.
9
While I have not gone to the same extent as my fellow Ohioan here, I have made marked changes in the intake of social media such as Twitter and Facebook. It has made a notable improvement in anxiety. I was already choosy about my print news sources and have not owned a television for years and years. Social media, with any and every voice expressing itself, can very quickly make one awfully cynical about mankind. And it's not just 'liberals' who can benefit.
9
Erik, a tip of the ol' hat to your dedication. You are not only escaping from the political news but also from those determined to impose their sociological views about all manner of things. Live a life dedicated to being a good person. You have found your way to do that. You have my admiration aling with some envy.
13
Trump derives his power, in part, from the media’s obsession with him. And the media continues to cover his administration because it is unpredictable, dramatic, and overall a good show for the public. This is not to say Trump’s bigoted and child-like behavior should not be taken seriously—we cannot normalize the threats he poses to democracy—but perhaps we should ask ourselves if following him (and the people around him) really makes us better citizens.
That said, I disagree with Mr. Hagerman’s choice to avoid ALL news. I myself avoid most articles about Trump, Russia, or North Korea, reading only headlines and daily briefings, but I strongly believe reading leads to knowledge and empathy, which in turn leads to a better nation. One person living a hermit lifestyle is not going to doom the United States. But it is important to realize that if we care at all about this country, we must be informed enough to critique its current condition and continue pushing for better
23
It's not the news avoidance that I find troubling; it's the lack of information that leads to passivity and therefore not being counted (in terms of desperately needed dollars donated to worth causes; letter writing and phone calling; joining mass protests) that bothers me. I'm fighting for everyone, not just myself, and I hope that everyone, not just myself, reaps reward from the resistance. It's not shocking that he's a white male... It is shocking that environmental protection is his raison d'etre; if he only knew what those in power were doing on that front...
37
For the eight years of Reagan's Presidency, which began when I was 33, I just decided not to pay attention. I hardly went as far as this gentleman, but I only read the local news. I decided that as a practical matter, whatever Reagan did would have very little impact on my daily life. Given my age, I had already come through the civil rights movement and Vietnam War protests along with a very peripheral association with the hippie sex, drugs ,and rock and roll era. I was exhausted and simply had not the energy for Reagan.
I wish I could be a little less consumed by today's political news. However, in 1980, it was easy. I could choose not to read a newspaper and not to watch the network news and that would be that.
Today, I get news alerts on my cell phone from the NY Times, the Washington Post, and CNN and the news is on TV 24/7. It's harder to avoid; it's omnipresent. I have Twitter and Facebook accounts, but I do not use them. But still the Trump Tweet Machine is always working, always controlling the news cycle, always making Trump the lead story of every hour of every day.
I wish I could avoid it, but it's just too compelling. Trump is the first entertainment President whether one likes him or not. As a sociological matter, it is fascinating. To avoid it, I would have to undertake a Blockade as does this gentleman. I'm too social to do that. However, I do try to avoid political discussions during meals. It gives me indigestion.
7
I got a part-time job after he was elected, which in addition to my full-time job prior to him gives me an hour a week to read the news.
I've been sleeping much better.
3
Hagerman should be held up as a hero. The news is mostly disinformation anyway so we will never understand it, and this disconnection from reality makes us crazy, if we expect it to have meaning. But looking at it as a Punch and Judy show is also good clean fun.
2
So many people excuse their hours of internet and television bingeing by describing this behavior as being responsible.
I disagree. A lot of people are seriously depressed over the 24/7 news cycle and their exposure to it. They will even tell you so. They are addicted, not responsible. They aren't even taking care of themselves, let alone anyone else.
Responsibility is to be active and involved. Educating yourself or others, giving of yourself to those who can use a hand, contributing. Volunteering, raising children well, are responsible. Political engagement as a form of activism is responsible. It takes creativity and strength.
But sitting at home before a computer screen, learning five nuanced responses to Marco Rubio's latest shameful statement, or fifteen new wild conjectures about what Mueller is up to, isn't responsible. It's a waste of time.
I consider myself to be responsible. I was in a Zen monastery for some years, away from any media, as well. After I got left and learned what had taken place in my absence, I never had a moment of regret.
I would counsel those who think they are being responsible by following the news for hours every day to find something useful to do instead, or if needed, to take care of themselves.
23
Yes , turn it off and tune into yourself and your own real life but be mindful of what is going on and what is really going wrong in our country right now with this fake TV so called President. It is scary and surreal but we have to carry on .
1
To answer the question you pose in you headline re: the ethics of ignorance in the Trump epa: surely the answer is: (1) ignorance is really NOT an ethical position,and (2) surely the same ethics ought to be consulted and applied, regardless of the “Era”. C’mon, drop the relativist thinking and step up with some that apply, no matter what.
9
Ah, to be as carefree and insulated from harm as a rich white dude in America. C'mon, his friend is an immigrant in this political environment and this insufferable narcissist has the nerve to get snippy with her?
The writer of the piece did a good job but there's only so much one can do to make Little Lord Hagerman a sympathetic figure.
38
I'm envious of this guy. I would love to erect my own blockade, but my new junkie/tweeter wife makes it impossible. But I can dream.
4
The most fascinatingly ignorant man in America is actually Donald Trump, because he lived half a century in Midtown Manhattan and he doesn't know anything.
I feel so happy for Mr. Hagerman that he had a plan to avoid seeing the world being dismantled by a megalomaniac in the White House.
At the time Trump became President, I had plans to open a business in New York, and a week later I was making plans to move to Spain. Changing plans like that is actually annoying.
For the next three months after that, all I remember was getting angry every time I read and watched the news, so I ended up cancelling cable TV and considered unsubscribing from The Times.
Now I don't read about politics daily as I used to, and have enjoyed different articles, on travel and food.
When I seriously think of the consequences of having an insane person leading us, sometimes I "live" the fantasy of living in a place like that of Erik Hagerman's.
9
Some may think that what I say is hybole, but Trump is an existential threat to our democracy. If you doubt my words, go back and listen to Trump in Pennsylvania today. Ignorance in the age of Trump is not bliss, but is disaster that will impact all Americans.
36
"The most important political office is that of private citizen" Louis Brandeis
23
I hope that more liberals follow his brave example!
2
A white man in denial of reality who surrounds himself with people he forces to reinforce his denial— sounds like our president.
39
Oh my God, I'm so jealous! If I had this man's discipline. The closest I got was a month at a Zen monastery. Man, that was delicious. Unfortunately I'm a news junkie and once I returned to the (sur)real world...
3
Good, thought provoking article. I particularly liked the photographs. Every so often a friend and I spend a weekend at an Amish farm in Ohio. No newspapers, no smart phones, no computers - just the land, the weather, the animals, and the peace. For us it has become a necessity. When the stress of our lives in the city becomes too much we can return at will, imagining being back in the barn, watching the calves breath in the crisp morning air, turning to see the farmer's wife walking back from milking, waving to us to come in for breakfast. A simpler life is out there. If we can't give up everything for it, we can seek it in smaller ways.
9
I'm Canadian, and I don't even get the luxury of The Blockade. Donald Trump's ungodly influence stretches across borders, into my country, my neighbourhood, and, in the words of my children that they pick up from school, even my home.
I don't have the privilege of The Blockade, but I also don't have the privilege of voting the US administration out.
We're all on the outside, looking in, waiting for the Americans to get their heads out of the sand.
44
Mr. Haberman didn't ask to be American. He is trying to preserve his peace of mind, and he could very well be more effective in the long run for doing that.
2
I get it. Totally. Mr. Haberman has found his calling and there, and only there, is extraordinary peace. I did television news for 27 years before walking away in 2014. I cannot tolerate watching the news. I get jumpy. Antsy. Irritated. Then, I bolt. I'm now a licensed therapist and my clients tell me the local news, should it come up, and my mom tells me the national and world news. I get severe weather information from my realtor friend from another county. Today, I recorded my mom's rendition of the news. Sadly, it's become humorous. It's how I cope. It's what works for me. I don't see myself changing anytime soon at least in that respect. I have come to realize the news business traumatized me and I'm still healing. In the process I have found life and life more abundantly. Yesterday, I described to a friend I needed to get out to a place that had a comfy chair. That's my next self care destination.
13
"Media garbage" is the term a retired journalist friend of mine refers to excessive and excessively negative news we get to see/read everyday.
1
I recall, years ago while sitting in the family room with my wife and two adolescent daughters when, on the evening news, a white Bronco was being followed by a fleet of LAPD squad cars. I looked at the screen, my wife and children and quickly determined that no good can come out of this story. I turned off the news. I read nothing about OJ. I listened to nothing about OJ. I would not participate in discussions. I was committed to absolute OJ ignorance. After what seemed a veeeery long time in this mode the trial finally came up, he was acquitted and I was outraged. In spite of everything that I had done to be clueless, by the time of the trial, I was perfectly well informed
10
Everyone who's whining about this man who worked for a living and saved his money for years, before taking advantage of his privileges, should look around at their own lives for a moment. I'm pretty sure most of the commenters have warm dry houses and a working phone or computer. How much meaningful, effective activism does their lives involve? Sanctimonious much?
13
He sounds a ton healthier than most of the people posting here. After a decade or 3 of 14 hours days, he's earned it.
12
people who earn less than minimum wage and also work 14 hours a day, didn't earn it?
3
What does he do when someone else is sitting in his chair at the coffee shop?
8
For Tom.
I hope he does what I do when confronted with the same problem at The Sugar Bowl.
I find another seat from which to view the massive seasonal decor and the busy and unique environment we both can enjoy.
(Two eggs over easy, home fries, and an English muffin. Great coffee.)
Always bring the front page section of the NY Times.
In my view the world has problem solvers, problem makers, and those who are just along for the ride - better known as freeloaders.
To each his own ..... for such is life.
3
Imagine sitting in a room alone with Wolf Blitzer day in and day out for a year. That would make anybody crazy. The question is is America crazy because of Wolf Blitzer (and his ilk at Fox News etc.) or is Wolf Blitzer (and he is crazy, America. I mean you have to understand that) crazy because of America.
3
To know everything is to know nothing;
but to know nothing is to know everything.
~ Confucius
11
I'm curious to know how this person allowed themselves to be found by The Times. Would seem counterintuitive to their mission.
33
Many people here are stating that every person needs to be informed on politics on a daily basis. I'd say that we don't all need this daily dose of micro-level information. However, I do believe it's our duty to be informed voters - but that could be accomplished by getting an overview of events and election issues before the election, not everyday. What he is doing, picking one thing for the common good to work on, is probably a better use of time.
6
Somewhere between knowing nothing and obsessively reading NYT comment sections, that's my knew goal.
I confess to being jealous of both 1) Mr. Hagerman's productive free time, courtesy of his not being glued to Twitter and Facebook, and 2) the profile writer's great talent.
14
There is more to the news than Trump. What about the fact that this guy has missed the entire Me Too and women's movement happening now? Oh, right, he's a rich unmarried white dude. That doesn't apply to him.
There's more to the world than Trump.
22
Obviously, you miss the point.
And please spare us the angry-woman-Me-Too rhetoric. There's more to the world than that, too.
7
Most men don't care about Me Too. There are many more important things to concern oneself with.
2
Okay, Robert, I'll skip angry woman rhetoric. How about angry old guy worried about Medicare? How about angry dad whose daughters' health care is under assault? How about angry citizen who sees fellow citizens' voting rights being attacked? Talk about missing the point...
6
I wish I could quit the news. I’d be happier for it these days.
8
As a Canadian that is bombarded by US media 24-7, its actually kind of funny to read the reactions for and against the hermit man.
The truth is , if there were a way to shut the US off, it would have been invented by a Canadian years ago.
25
So you say.. yet here you are.
7
He's qualified to be in the Trump cabinet, where willful ignorance reigns.
11
Personally, I think Mr. Hagerman is "a very self -centered man." Not to even know nor care about the extreme suffering that people endure, in this country and throughout the world, is disgraceful to me. And to impose "his will on family members and friends is very selfish, indeed."
15
perhaps Mr. Hagerman would benefit from reading the Wikipedia entry on the Nuremberg trials....responsibility can be a sticky wicket.
13
Admiring story, really.
Great to do your own things and don't want to be distracted by disgusting same day news about DJT.
3
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of Evil is for good men to do nothing." He sounds like a good man, and I don't blame him for being disgusted with politics, which nowadays, with our almost total dependence on TV advertising to choose our candidates, has become "A tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing," as Shakespeare wrote 400 years ago. Politics is a master illusion by wealthy and powerful families and corporations who quietly bribe Congress, state legislators and city councils to do their bidding, then distract us great unwashed masses, us "Little People," with hot air, posing, slick TV ads, and fake feuds over issues like gun control, abortion, LGBTQ rights, and other "social issues" that do not impact the "lifestyles of the rich and famous" because they can afford their own private security in their gated communities, fly their daughter overseas if she needs an abortion, and pay the bill for the best sex-change program at Dr. John Money's clinic at Johns Hopkins.
7
I think a lot of people took this stance when the nazis came to power in Germany. Foolish. "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke quotes
15
Sounds like a bad marriage; just look the other way and hope things get better. The sad truth is that it does not get better.
8
Beautifully written! Thought-provoking! Stands apart. Thank you!
10
The most uninformed people I've ever known were parents. Rich or poor, many are so involved in their little world of child-rearing they hardly have a clue what's going on in the world. My sister used to to so stressed out by her two kids, if I mentioned anything political, she would literally put her hands over her ears and say "lalala."
Well, this guy's land is his baby. He's no more privileged than the lot of you who spend all your money on your kids. Your children are your chosen gift to the world. This guy's land is his chosen gift to the world.
Maybe he'll decide someday to link in again. Many parents do, too. In the meantime, at least he's using his talents and doing something good for the planet without adding to over-population.
13
Whoa, you really have an axe to grind! I know it's hard to understand (because I did not before kids), but with young babies/kids, you literally often don't have time to shower for days. You are just scraping by trying to get enough sleep and food. It's a lot like being a college student who needs every scrap of time to study. Believe me and millions of others, it's true. I also went through a while of barely following the news, though eventually I fed my kids while watching MacNeil/Lehrer.
9
Jane...if I have an ax to grind it is because of all the commenters attacking Erik Hagerman. I'm an artist who gave up my career for more than a decade to be involved in environmental and political activism, yet I understand and respect what he is doing. Yes, we could use his help, but who says he won't get involved in years ahead? Taking a break from politics as he is doing reminds me of parenting, which most people find acceptable, so they might extend the same to Erik Hagerman.
People who demand some sort of 'civic' engagement and that includes voting, are as tunnel-visioned as any fundamentalist, religious zealots. Tell me what difference it will make in 50, 25 or even 10 years whether this man has voted or 'informed' himself as regards no-longer-current events. His love for the land he's chosen to steward is worlds more meaningful than being politically aware.
6
Given that there is little rational thinking behind American politics, I can well understand Mr. Hagerman's blockade. I mean why spend your life surrounded by anger, fear mongering and apocalyptic visions? If every one turned their backs on it all, sooner or later the insanity of it all would drain away and a new reality of calm, sober second thought will take over the nation. Sounds like a good recipe for a happy life.
9
Or, "if everyone turned their backs on it all," malevolent movements, now without any opposition, would gain momentum and erode all remaining traces of democracy. The "Blockade" sounds like a selfish, irresponsible recipe too.
2
I admire Mr. Hagerman's conviction. He has also found a path to make the world better. I do hope he votes generic Democrat when given the opportunity. He really doesn't need any more information than what he heard in 2016 to know how to vote at the next opportunity. Neither do I. There is nothing that can be said or done by anyone to change how I am going to vote at every opportunity for the rest of my life.
10
Have to admir I am sick of the politics these days. I keep n touch, but I am purposely trying to find activities and hobbies that attract both liberals and conservatives but ban overt political discussions. Long distance hiking, fishing, book clubs, that kind of thing. Trying to restore my faith in my fellow americans.
11
I have curtailed listening to NPR on my car radio for this reason. I've become reacquainted with classical music, and this has helped my outlook greatly.
4
This is a quite wonderful presentation, so surprising. I understand, especially because I remember the night of the election, the very early morning as the news came thru. I became so traumatized, depressed, because it was as if everything I had worked for over the past 40 years no longer counted. Everything changed, so dramatically, and now it is being played out in international and domestic politics. My one criticism is the references in the article to Athens, OH. Athens is the home of Ohio University, one of the really fine state universities in Ohio, noted for its school of journalism and its work in international relations. Athens is not just a nearby town in SE Ohio. It is an academic center, a place where he would have had an even more difficult time keeping his distance. tks
10
I understand completely. It is easy to become obsessed with the ups and downs of the political news. We regular citizens have very little say or control over the direction of our country. I spend a lot of time outside photographing wildlife. It is the sane side of my life in the erratic times in which we live in here and now in the USA. Rebalancing our lives might be a useful thing under the circumstances in which we live. And it might allow a better perspective on what is important personally.
8
Well, given the effort that Mr. Hagerman has invested in The Blockade, I think he's been quite successful in achieving what he wants. We can debate, endlessly it would seem, the effect of one individual in politics. The reverse might also be true: what is the effect of one individual removing him- or herself from the political arena?
If enough people are of Mr. Hagerman's bent, the effect on the body politic could be substantial. The question, of course, is whether those souls would notice any difference in their insular existences. To absent oneself so completely requires a certain amount of privilege, that the vast majority of people in the US probably do not enjoy. There are, of course, the desperately poor, for whom knowing too little is a function of existing in a life in which scrambling to exist precludes the luxuries of newspapers, TV, computers, and social media.
Perhaps it will just continue to be true that ignorance is a hallmark of the rich and the destitute. The former by choice and the latter by circumstance.
13
There may be more to this Blockade than eschewing political news. There's a pattern of avoidance in other aspects of Hagerman's life. His choice to live alone, no mention of a life partner or interest in having a family of his own, his choice of a somewhat isolated location. He seems generally detached, which might be driving his decisions in ways the writer fails to explore.
28
From Maslow's 'Hierarchy of Needs,' Mr. Hagerman is doing what each of us could (should?) do from within our own being. As I write this, I can hear what's his name playing the denigration game in his Pennsylvania speech. There is nothing that Donald Trump says or does that will be different today or tomorrow than it was yesterday or the day before. Hagerman is doing what he can and perhaps must, to reach the place of self-actualization as described by Maslow. I wish him well.
16
Becoming an ostrich doesn't make the problem go away. Voluntary blindness is not the answer. Enlightened involvement is. Wake up, dude.
33
He's not listening. Remember: The Blockade.
4
I am envious!
5
A rich white man with no dependents can avoid all the responsibilities of citizenship.
This isn't a surprise, and it certainly isn't news.
People who care about the country cannot afford to be willfully ignorant. Most of us literally can't afford to allow the country to fall apart.
This isn't a liberal fantasy. This is simply pathetic.
54
Touché. His self-imposed detachment from the world serves only his selfish purpose. He had lost his sense of civic duty. It’s his right to live like an ostrich with its proverbial head in the sand, but someday, like it Ir not, it’s going to catch up to him. And he’ll be one totally lost soul!!
7
Seems like a wacky and goofy guy who isn't hurting anyone so good for him. In the meantime, his retreat will make the Republican hold on politics that much stronger. I encourage other liberals to embrace his lifestyle; after all, ignorance is bliss!
2
So I’ve become half-ignorant, and gladly so. I used to be deeply engaged in political news, but now only skim the political Trump-based headlines to get a sense of the chaos. I avoid the network TV news accounts, which seem rather dumb-downed. No social media blather. I read more newspapers from Canada and the U.K. to recapture a sense of world events. And I read more books, and volunteer more in my community. Near ignorance can be near bliss.
14
The musings of a ratified few only heightens our awareness of and discernment about why so many liberals can do easily circumnavigate the wages of Ametica’s sin. Exploitation of others will always end badly. Even for those diverting their heads from evil in action and feeling righteous while doing so..
2
I was ready to condemn this man, as so many have in these replies, until I came to the part of the article that showed he does realize he has some kind of commitment to this planet and to others and is doing something about it. I do agree with others who have written that, at a minimum, he needs to vote. There are too many people who stuff themselves with every bit of breaking news but don't do anything about it. Are they more commendable than Hagerman?
9
here we go, the opposition sitting it out, ready to hand him the keys all over again , smart real smart ...
GO VOTE!
5
In other words, he’s a fairly typical American voter.
6
Erik wouldn’t be surprised to know that he hasn’t missed much. Well done!
6
Sounds like most of the people I talk to.
6
So his idea of generous civic duty is building his protected sanctuary that he will donate to the public after he’’s dead. Well, polluted ground water might not adhere to his plan. Global warming might not halt for him either. Meanwhile, customers of his coffee shop may start to look remarkably similar, maybe even adhering to the same religion. Maybe a shooter will switch his preferred venue from schools to coffee shops. His tax dollars will be paying for a military parade, for building a wall, for preventing women from family planning.
I find his privileged isolationism selfish and pathetic.
24
Yeah, he should be impotent and miserable like the rest of us. Unfair.
2
A lot of commenters critical of Mr. Hagerman, but I'd like to know, what actions separate you from him? So you vote. Maybe he votes. Do you get involved? Do you go door-to-door? Do you volunteer? Do you write/call your congresspeople?
'Cause there's no actual virtue in just being informed. Knowledge without action comes to nothing.
16
It's unfortunate that so much vitriol is directed at someone who just wants to go about his life. The real problem today is how everyone wants to shove their political agenda down everyone else's throat and become enraged at anyone who doesn't swallow it. This man is bothering no one, taking from no one, and he's far happier than anyone who's "engaged." I applaud and envy him.
10
Indeed, exactly right. Jealousy is a factor, lots of people would love to live this life but simply don't. Disgusting.
3
Its only political, I think, if the decisions don't impact you.
If this man were a DREAMer, would he be able to maintain The Blockade? What if he were dependent on Obamacare or Medicare? What if he lived in a border city, slated to become part of The Wall, or had received a nuclear warning text on his phone in Hawaii or not had FEMA show up like in Puerto Rico?
He can only ignore the news because he ignores the welfare of anyone not like himself - wealthy, landowning, white, educated, single, and heathy.
5
By retreating from a life, where Trump is too much present Mr. Hagerman is allowing Trump to control him. While Hagerman's head might be in the sand, his body is right there in the open.
6
It seems Mr. Hagerman expends a lot of energy on keeping up his blockade. Not even considering how difficult it would be to make a decision in the voting booth, I could not listen to many of the 50 or so podcasts to which I sunscribe. Even my book and history podcasts mention current events. On a daily basis I limit social media, never watch cable news, listen to NPR and PBS, and have digital subscriptions to the NYT, the New Yorker, and the Washington Post. At least I am getting my news without screaming and vileness. I will admit that I take short, frequent sabbaticals from the news to keep my mental and emotional equilibrium.
5
I guess it depends on how one defines ignorance.
Perhaps he is the most sane man in America. His approach is almost hermetic – an approach more honored in the East than it is in the West. Shunning this “world of dust” is a fundamental precept of the Taoist sages. Would we call this a world-accepting, or world-rejecting belief system?
I respect his choice. And although the reportorial tone veers sometimes towards smugness, I thank you, NYT, for sharing it.
9
This is the sort of behavior that got us where we are. More eligible voters did not vote than voted for Hillary Clinton, who, in turn, out-polled Donald Trump.
7
"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be. If we are to guard against ignorance and remain free, it is the responsibility of every American to be informed."
- Thomas Jefferson
14
Why all the animosity towards this guy? I am a news junkie and resister but honestly, the only things I can do to improve this disaster is to vote and attend protests. My daily habit of obsessively scanning the news and Twitter isn't helping anyone. I'd do more good by volunteering in my community - like he is.
8
Fun story. Well written. Given what we know about his current goals and pre-Blockade orientation, I think he should go ahead and vote.
4
As is often the case, the responses to the article are often as interesting as the article itself. As a professor of human rights I am actively engaged in political discourse, but as a teacher of meditation I applaud his choice. It is difficult to stay sane these days and it seems that Mr. Hagerman has created his own modern, forest retreat. A secular monk. Yet his gift of the lake still reaches out to benefit the community for potentially generations to come.
17
Dropping out is no less subversive to society than conquest. Your very sad subject is the mirror of the Donald Trump he so dislikes.
6
The irony is that Erik won't ever read these comments or even the story.
9
What a cop-out. Only someone in an extremely privileged position could indulge in this kind of behavior. He could be trying to reverse this, not hide his head in the sand.
17
I can understand this gentleman for whatever reason he chooses to block out politics. I have never suffered so much anxiety before in life that I needed medical help to control the panic that the worst will happen. The things that Trump so easily gets away with, be it language, insults, repulsive behaviors and crass attitudes, he doesn't represent a man with diplomacy or taste. He presents himself as a cowardly bully making comments and demands for which the individuals in this country are going to pay a terrible price. These are my fears and at times, I long for blissful ignorance. I am scared for each of my countrymen, our country itself, and others that might get dragged into such a fiasco that Trump believes he is right in instigating.
4
Why is this labeled a "liberal" fantasy? I am a libertarian, not a liberal and Mr. Haggerman's life is my fantasy too. He's a hero to me. He loves his solitude, so do I. Like most people, I have a family and different life commitments that preclude me from going all the way like Mr. Haggerman. But, I took my own measures to protect myself and preserve the healthy atmosphere in our home after this narcissistic pig was elected. I stopped watching TV news. I will only go to the NYT, WaPo or WSJ websites for print news online. I stopped participating in social media. I distanced myself from family who were Trumpers because honestly, I found some people I loved to have turned vile. When Aunt so in so who bakes the family ecipe cookies starts defending the rights of Neo Nazis, we cannot continue as we did. Social media made what should have been left private, political and religious preferences of family, complicated and sabotaged what were once loving relationships. So my solution was to digitally disconnect. Yes, I stuck my head in the sand and I love it. I donate as much as I can to help others and support causes I care about. Emotional, spiritual calm. Loving life. Listening to birds chirp, enjoying nature with my family. It's comforting. And Aunt So an So's cookies taste good once again.
16
I stopped watching TV about 50 years ago. Everything I could possibly want to know is in bold screaming at me on websites. One needn't be on "social media" to be au courante. I don't use Twitter or FB since they were and always will be tremendous violations of privacy. Owning a lake? Give me a break. This is greed just like working for Nike. Just pay no attention... and NO! My head is not up where the sun doesn't shine. Just sick of being a lemming and being on the "right" side of stuff... and I didn't even need to be an executive at Nike to do it!
3
By escaping to ignorance, inaction and apathy, Mr. Hagerman enables the very Administration he claims to disdain. Hypocrisy at best, laziness and selfishness at worst.
12
I wonder what Hagerman would do if the county where he lives were to rezone his property and confiscate it through an eminent domain claim.
10
Mr. Hagerman threw up his blockade a little late. Donald Trump's actions are sickening, but he's not the disease. He's not even an early symptom.
3
As long as he votes in November...
5
I cannot disagree enough with what he is doing.
One does not have to be connected 24/7, but in the same respect, I find it irresponsible to be disconnected 24/7.
Like so many things in life, moderation is the key. Mr. Hagerman needs to learn that skill.
10
Clinically interesting. If you read 'between the lines', this person looks like someone with an attentional control problem, who cannot volitionally ignore certain types of stimuli so he must make radical changes to his environment. It's odd that even the author notes his remarkable mind wandering but doesn't put it together
7
It has been painful to watch the Republican Party and American government deteriorate under the presidency of a narcissistic ignoramus. At times most of us who value democracy and the Constitution must suffer from a feeling of helplessness and despair as we watch insanity unfold in Washington.
While I can not withdraw like Mr. Hagerman, I sometimes have to turn off the news and go for a walk. Each of us has to decide how much we can stand.
9
What a spoiled, selfish and self-absorbed person. I don’t know which is worse, people who deliberately choose to be uninformed and uninvolved, or those who just are. We are getting the government we deserve, thanks to this fellow and the rest of the ignorant masses.
9
I can think of nothing more unpatriotic than an uninformed voter.
7
Ignorance of one's own ignorance is no excuse.
9
When I want to be really ignorant about what is going on, I watch Fox News.
6
Twice a month, since the election, I go on a "Trump-fast". It is 2.5 days of classical music, long walks, silent car rides, and book reading. Very similar to Mr Hagerman. I have come to love these weekends..... pulling in and embracing nature. And on the Monday morning after these 2 days, I feel like a new woman. The toxicity of Trump requires a healthy disconnect.
17
Good for him! I envy his ability to stay disconnected. The most I can do is to quickly switch channels when the electoral college president appears on TV. I do read the NYT, but mostly the opinion columns.
3
I found the story to be somewhat refreshing! While no fan of Trump, I am totally exhausted from the constant media negativity and extreme liberal ranting that has become overwhelming since he was elected POTUS. Over the past several months, I decided to selectively reduce my exposure to the media, which has made me a happier person. I cannot image divorcing myself entirely from the news and tuning out the world like Mr. Hagerman has. It would create a void in my life too deep to imagine.
5
What part of the "extreme liberal ranting" is unwarranted? The endless stream of ethical violations and flagrant corruption? The authoritarian abuses? The violent bigotry? The regressive attacks on civil and women's rights? The pathological lying from Trump and his enablers? Or just the sophomoric insults that degrade the presidency?
8
For 40 years, I have been an NPR subscriber. I regularly get the emails that translate to mean, “What can we do to get more of your money?” Several years ago my standard reply was, “If I never need to hear about the Middle East again, I’ll give you whatever you want.” Today, my reply is that if I never need to hear about Trump again, I’ll give you whatever you want.
World events don’t create these situations, the media does. Tell me about things that actually matter to me and those that I can influence.
4
I know a lot of people who don't follow politics at all. I have close relatives who never watch television or read newspapers so they really no nothing, except of course they hear some friends talking about the crazy stuff happening in Washington.
1
And that's why Trump is POTUS. An inactive and uninformed electorate and those easily manipulated by powerful dark money sources (including Putin) who create "alternate facts" for those who only tune into right wing propaganda. Taking breaks is one thing, willfully unplugging from civic responsibility has severe consequences locally and globally. This gentleman might find toxic poisons draining into his lake now that Trump has deregulated the dumping of coal-mining waste and "I don't believe in evolution" Pruitt is the head of the EPA.
6
This guy might as well be hiding under his bed. If he's not even paying attention to his investments, his whole basis for a life in Never-never Land may come to to a crashing halt sooner than he'd like.
6
I had my own blockade from November 8 to around the end of December 2016. I canceled my cable, the NY Times, and Washington Post. I went overseas. Then when I got back I spent all of 2017 addicted to any news about Trump. I became consumed by it and at the same time became incredibly depressed. Then on January 2018, I became completely disengaged and stopped reading even one article and stopped visiting social media, and became happy again until a couple of weeks ago when I started to visit social media again. Now I read 1 or 2 articles a day maybe. But it doesn't bother me as much as it did because I plan to leave the U.S. by the end of the year and stay away indefinitely. I am currently and methodically planning overseas life. I'm so disappointed and disgusted with this country, the government, most of the people, the media, and the rhetoric of the right but sometimes the left, too. There is something seriously wrong with this country, and I don't see it getting any better. But I also don't care anymore.
6
I read this article earlier today, as I do every day with the Times. A friend, just outside DC sent me an email with this subject: "Well, I couldn't do it, but I have this good friend.... As much as I would like to do this, and in VT it would be easy, there are so many pictures that look like where I live, but I can't do it. I love my children and grandchildren too much to ignore what is happening and we have to get rid of him and the Republicans who ignore everything. VOTE THIS NOVEMBER as if your life depended on it because it dow.
13
The GOP has become incoherent, inconsistent, and unworthy of engagement because they don't reason, they believe. They treat politics like marketing. The Public Sphere is not for branding, optics, framing, and focus groups. Our future depends on evidence and coming together in a Public Square devoted to logic not feelings. Ignore them until they're willing to cooperate.
3
How surreal. What gets me is how out of touch the entire motivation behind this article is. Yes, the 2016 election has certainly inspired a large amount of people in this country to start paying attention to politics, which is exactly opposite to this articles main character. I'm from Louisiana and am currently in graduate school at a university on campus of a large State Hospital in the Capitol of Arkansas. And I can tell you with sincerity that The Blockade is not unusual. The majority of people I grew up with here in the South and the people I continue to interact with choose to not pay attention to politics. But the fact is that MOST people intentionally stay ignorant so that their views are not challenged. Therefore, you aren't hearing from them in media. NYT and other usually left leaning publications continue to be out of touch by presenting small factions of the country as representative of the whole. The people I am talking about are educated and intelligent, but cut off from politics due to polarizing spins from media that do not represent their daily lives. These are the people that have the ability to change the conversation because they are the majority. But as they continue to be underrepresented in the national conversation, they only stay uninformed and quiet while the loud extremists on both sides of the divide control the conversation. NYT, get it together. The Blockade isn't original or liberal.
6
Bravo, Ashley.
3
It's not the information - it's what you do with it.
Collecting information is for many a fetish - an addiction - which often results in nothing more than a media-referenced argument/rant, the expression of which is usually their only active participation in the process. It generally takes the form of anger, depression, and feelings of helplessness.
I recommend intermittent media fasting so as to gather and maintain strength for the good fight, which isn't an episode or singular event we that need to show up for - but rather an ongoing effort as a considerate citizenry to offer our contribution to the formation of a more-perfect union. It's not just voting, but that would be a good start.
For a participatory democracy to work we need well-informed, vigilant, active participation beyond the habitual consumption and regurgitation of the latest "breaking news".
7
Mr. Hagerman is on to something. The proof is in the vitriol being directed towards him in these comments.
6
This story sounds like a set-up to me. This man lives in total isolation, yet he reaches out to a NYT reporter to write about it. It's just a gimmick. He should devote his life to doing good in the world instead of contemplating his navel.
6
Years ago I briefly worked for this guy. He struck me then as a the least curious person I'd met. This Peter Pan type behavior is not shocking. Having the NYTimes waste space on it is.
10
"It is difficult to get the news from poems yet men die miserably every day for lack of what is found there." - William Carlos Williams
5
Oh please New York Times, please please stop glorifying the ignorant on the right who support the monster who is disfiguring America, and the privileged on the left who think they can afford to let someone else fight the battle for the soul of our country.
15
Waste of ink, writing about a person missing the greatest president in American history.
1
ha ha great sarcasm!
4
I'm not even close to this, but truly considering it. Mostly due to the helplessness I feel over my inability to influence events in Trumpland. I've donated money and time, I've marched, but to what avail? I get daily appeals for money from contra-Trump causes and politicians who all seem powerless against his decisions and edicts, and a contemptuous Congress. I suppose when it gets a bit closer to the elections, I'll take time to learn about the candidates to prepare myself for voting.
3
Dear Erik, I grew up in New Lex, just north of Glouster. I went to college and moved away. I returned many times to visit my mom. So, I know the area and its history. It is, and always has been, the back of beyond. A good place to bury oneself. Good luck!......Dave
6
Sorry Erik. There is nothing laudable in what you're doing. The fact that you're forcing your family and friends to go along with your charade is incredible. Terrible things are happening to people in this country as a direct result of this administration and you are literally doing nothing, and by doing nothing you are complicit in their actions. I don't care how much you assuage your guilt by building some grand art project. Grow up, get your Netflix queue ready and take in the world a little bit at a time. Then get out there and do something about it.
19
Oh puleeze! As if anything he did would matter. I’m an addict. The news is disturbing but I devour it to the point that I am now responding to a comment about an article about a man who tuned out. Every time I read the word trump I have to remind myself nothing is real. It just doesn’t matter. But it’s not working for me. Hail to that guy. He’s living the dream. And he found something just as vile as tweeting to fill his time. Pig farm. Nothing is real. Nothing matters. Nothing is real. Nothing matters.
Still not working.
2
What a time to be an Ohio University student!
1
Such a First World problem...eccentric (read rich) man holes up in his Ohio dominion to work on art and hide from the troubles of the world. Really?
Boy, bye.......
8
This article makes me ponder about the hundreds of wasted hours of my life that I've spent following the political reality show in Washington DC when I could have been doing more worthwhile activities. But it's a nicely written story, and a great shame that its subject will never read it.
8
I don't get why so many people are criticizing this man. Trump voters devour the lies and nonsense that comes from Trump and right wing media on a daily basis and believe it. What is worse - disinformation or lack of information altogether?
11
It sounds heavenly, really.
13
I believe, as our founding fathers made clear, that each one of us has a responsibility to protect and embrace our democracy and whether you are a Democrat, Republican, independent or Liberal, Conservative or just plain a believer in our country which has been a beautiful and difficult at times experiment - this responsibility is to keep ourselves informed and educated about these United States . It is essential or one day through quiet protective ignorance we will find the wolves at our door .
10
I feel the urge to judge him, as so many readers apparently have. But that's wrong: it's his money to spend as he wishes; he's not hurting anyone. But one question: will he vote against Trump and his GOP henchmen? I hope so, if not for his sake, but for ours.
9
A wonderful venture I wish we could all afford. Most of the news is simply a repeat of a human and community life that is filled with people believing in huge mythologies and propaganda. One needs to know about the realities; the evolution and diversity of all the marvelous plants and animals that Mr. Hagerman wants to protect; the size and nature of the universe and all the philosophy that man has written. Sir Isaac Newton could not explain gravity and stated it was unintelligible and anyone who tried to do so was defective. And no one has made it intelligible. We should all want to have time to contemplate these incredible facts of existence and avoid watching Oprah, sports and the reams and reams of junk in the news. Climate change and nuclear war would be another fine topic to consider, but not the reams and reams of propaganda on TV, social media and newspapers. Good luck to him and saving his 45 acres.
4
I do understand the need to withdraw from the news: just to stop the endless bombardment of what feels like the destruction of our democracy by a lunatic with bone spurs and go back to the deeper issues of human existence. My one concern is: will he vote? I'm shocked that the interviewer didn't ask him this question! Presumably, Mr. Hagerman’s desire to create the Blockade stemmed from his dismay at the election results, since he adopted a blockade on November 8, 2016. Will he vote to overturn those election results in 2018 and in 2020? If he will, and feels he can vote intelligently having stopped time and let the issues petrify (which I doubt), then I can appreciate his stance. If not, then his stance is the equivalent of pushing our democracy off a cliff, and I hope someone tells him so.
9
Fine: I like the lake and any other ecologically beneficial project. But he's got to find a way to vote. Otherwise he's just too complicit with everything he's hiding from.
14
A bit extreme perhaps, but ignorant is probably better than misinformed which is the fate of so many Americans glued to TV news and social media outlets.
I think the difficulty for most people is that he attempts to lead an otherwise normal life. If he were a true hermit and escaped to the wilds of Alaska or something we wouldn't think twice about his escapism but the fact that he simply wants to ignore American politics while hanging out at the coffee shop puts many people off (that and his liberal leanings, of course, which put off conservatives anyway).
4
Right. He wants to spare himself the agony of dealing with the daily barrage of information the rest of us have to scrutinize, ponder, and, most important, act upon, while he can enjoy the benefits provided by those who accept the burden and responsibilities of being informed. Lucky for him, he has a friend who screens reality for him and lets through the facts that might hurt him, like the Equifax breach, so he can protect himself. Lucky for him, he is, apparently, vulnerable to little of the devastation Trump is wreaking. This is exactly the kind of person Trump counts on to perpetuate his coup -- capable and empowered, but tuned out. Come election day, this guy will sit it out as part of his self-indulgent little project, while Trump supporters flock to the polls.
As for all those who are desperately mobilizing to save the country from conservative/neoliberal destruction -- let 'em eat lake!
9
What a lot of words to tell us what we all know: if you're rich enough you can live in your own world. It's the rest of us who need a little more love and understanding.
12
The responsibilities of citizenship? "I would prefer not to."
6
A modern-day Thoreau. The one thing missing is a dog who will maintain respect for the Blockade and provide an attentive partner.
8
This guy decided to devote his life and fortune to restoring a wetland and making art. Honestly, I really can't begrudge him for that.
8
Living in a country where we have freedom of choice means that one can choose to "check out." It's his right. Who am I to judge? And he's not ranting about anything nor trying to convince others to follow his lead (unlike many of the writers commenting on this article, ha!)
5
Great article. One nit: The idea that a 53-year-old Hillary-supporting American could move to the northern paradise of Canada may be appealing, but it might be challenging. As explained in http://www.canadaexpressentry.org/eligibility.php : "Canada prefers young immigrants, and prospective candidates in their twenties receive the most points under this eligibility factor. Potential immigrants who are 45 years of age or older do not receive any Express Entry CRS points for their age."
2
Where in the article did it say he supported Hillary?
1
I find it rather odd that the author of this article neglects to mention that Athens, Ohio, is the home of Ohio University--a major public university of some 20,000 students that is the educational and economic engine for all of southeastern Ohio. I would imagine that Mr. Hagerman's daily visits to Athens involve more than coffee. If not, he's missing out on a lot of valuable interaction with scientist, artists and experts in a wide range of fields. His isolation may not be a complete as one takes away from reading ths article.
2
I'll add an objection to the headline. Who decides how much we are supposed to know? He's not giving the NYT any money, I know. But how much is enough? And who claimed this was a liberal fantasy? He's just living his life. We're the ones projecting all kinds of ideas on it.
26
Thank you. I get so tired of people branding something as simple as equal civil rights as a "liberal" point of view. Anyone who claims American citizenship should believe in such. And I get the impression that many people, including journalists these days, need to fit people in a tidy bag that, though tidy, isn't accurate because it ignores all nuances.
Until we lose our stereotypes, we will never be of use to this country in any good way. I suspect that Hagerman, when he emerges from this self-imposed cocoon, will be all the stronger for his time there. And if he doesn't, all of us should respect that decision. Until further changes. this is still a free country.
10
Thank you. Concise. Well-put.
2
Since there are some comparisons going on with literary characters, I thought I'd suggest Bartleby the Scrivener. He'd "prefer not to" know about the world right now. I can appreciate that.
On the other hand, his Blockade is is a wall built with privilege and money. He has the high tech bucks to retire to a pig farm and work on his art. He's someone who is both cushioned and protected so that he does not NEED to know what is going on in the news.
For the rest of us, the need to know is more than just an all-consuming hobby; it's about whether we'll have health insurance next year, or whether things that are legal will become illegal, or vice versa.
I hope his self-imposed embargo ends soon. He seems like the kind of person who has both the resources and the energy to resist things he finds immoral.
43
So he's gone from misinformed to uninformed. He's really no different than the boy who takes drugs to postpone puberty. That's the sad reality for most liberals who refuse to grow up.
6
I envy him. But if we all did this, democracy would be in shambles (even more so than it is now).
Perhaps there is a middle path. Personally I have tried to filter out the relentless cycle of opinion, analysis, and hot takes in favor of original reporting. I wish there were a way to receive the NYT in this way -- in a version that chops out the fluff and only includes new information, based on journalistic investigation.
14
Mr. Hagerman compared himself to a vampire who would be destroyed by a photon of Trump - but actually, Trump is a narcissist and emotional vampire who has hijacked our national life. Most therapists would agree that it is wise to deal with a narcissist by going No Contact. I have had to do it quite a lot recently with reading the news - the stupidity gets exhausting and my penchant for drama has worn off. It's helpful also to cut yourself off from stimulus when trying to make art, no matter who is in charge. You need to hear your inner voice.
As an aside, he's cute. I'm sure a lot of ladies will be looking to penetrate The Blockade. Of course he won't know they are coming. He doesn't read the news.
26
This story truly rattled me until I realized that Mr. Hagerman’s actions strike me as aimed right at what it means to be human.
I choose to embrace the world -- the joy and laughter, plus the pain and sorrow. Both are part of the normal human experience. In my judgement, were I to completely turn my back on the world, as Mr. Hagerman has, would be to shout “I choose to be willfully ignorant. I am afraid of life -- a coward.”
But, to each his own.
10
We, as Americans living in a democracy, have a RESPONSIBILITY to be informed and to act on that information. The problem with America's current state is the overwhelming political illiteracy of our citizens. I, too, am incapable of watching the news on television, but I am well-read and follow several blogs in order to know how this country is being destroyed by those currently wielding power. We can volunteer to get those destroying us out of office. We can volunteer in a myriad of ways to help counter the effects of the irresponsible laws being passed. Erik Hagerman is a selfish coward, who does nothing to enhance our country and merely takes up space.
20
SNL already did a spoof of this with the same premise right after the election:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKOb-kmOgpI
4
Good for him on giving up the delusion that moral outrage unto itself is noble
11
Ignorance may be bliss, but it's still ignorance. And, as Eldridge Cleaver said, "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem". Donald Trump is counting on people like Mr. Hagerman to hide their heads in the sand, while others of us try to be more engaged.
21
I am giving up FB for a month. It is a relief to not have to read all of the vitriol. I don't watch national news, I just read newspapers online.
5
Leave him alone and let him be. He's not making the world a better place, but he's not hurting anyone. His "lake" project is fine, but not the big deal he thinks it is. My only problem with this is the fact that he wanted the Times to support his boasting about it.
7
He seems to exhibit the traits and appearance of someone on the autism spectrum.
10
Thank you for saying this. I am disappointed in the author and NYT for exposing this person to public ridicule. The consequences Hagerman will likely suffer as a result are one more example of the cost of public ignorance about mental health.
Blockading the news, yet being written up in The New York Times. That is ironic, if not too cute. Driving 30 minutes to town each morning and 30 minutes back just to get a coffee and scone and sit in an easy chair? Making the odd art piece or two. Being a minature preservationist. Plus, ignoring all the news, all the time. All very quirky. Good luck Erik Hagerman, good luck.
6
I am delighted to imagine that Mr. Hagerman is a fictional character, and that this piece is a positive contribution to "fake news," or, better, a journalistic thought experiment ...
Putting aside judgment about Mr. Hagerman personally, the piece has allowed me -- and obviously a lot of others -- to reflect on being social, political, philosophical, soulful animals in various permutations.
4
This would have been far more interesting if said experiment was conducted by someone who literally says "I don't fool with social media," along with "I don't watch the news" followed by " I have bills. I have to work."
There are tons of people who fit THAT description. Reading about a wealthy person who used his privilege to "opt-out" of life is completely ridiculous "journalism."
6
Don't we all wish we could throw away financial statements at 53.
18
I identify entirely with Hagerman. I went through this same thing when Reagan was elected almost 40 years ago. I was young back then, but the election marked the beginning of my alienation with American society, and the break was total.
I couldn't so much as go to a grocery store without thinking, "All these people voted for Reagan." I gave up TV entirely, since I didn't want to see his mug on TV, and I also gave up eating meat (I had always wanted to do this, however, so I can't credibly say it was because of the election. But it seemed a very good time to make atonement, anyway).
Alienation from television takes no time at all to mean that you don't even understand coworkers' conversation. A year or less.
I object to the writer's tone. I am accustomed to being mocked, even in my own family, as an "eccentric," which, from what I can tell, means only that if you're out of style from current times (no matter how crazy those are), there's something wrong with you. But for a journalist to do this is unprofessional. I speak as someone who was a line editor at newspapers and was said to have impeccable news judgment. The reason, I think, is that I could still detect what was crazy. Most people in that environment cannot because they're so caught up in it.
Hagerman is not weird. Or crazy. What's weird is the current state of affairs and a national mood that seems to accept what's going on as the new norm.
What's going on should never be accepted in a democracy. Period.
26
Putting that level of restriction on all communication with family, friends and most of all strangers is sociopathic. Is it about controlling whether you hear the news or controlling all interactions with other people?
9
You have to call it a lake so it doesn't start ringing bells for Walden Pond.
4
I wonder if he'll want to be informed when there's an election. He could ask a friend to prepare a one paragraph, no-news position statement on each candidate.
3
This brought to mind the following:
Beginning the day that George W. Bush was first elected, I vowed never to hear him speak a full sentence. Partly, this was from disgust at his politics and, partly, it was near-physical revulsion at his linguistic barbarisms. I simply could not comprehend how a man whose every utterance broadcast abysmal ignorance could have been elected and I felt sick to hear him speak.
I read the news, of course, and remained engaged politically. But I would mute the TV the moment Dubya appeared. If I were somewhere public and he came on, I put on headphones.
Although difficult to maintain, this lasted his full first term—and I relished him being defeated in his second election and my smugly saying I had never heard him utter a sentence.
But to my complete shock, he won again.
I knew it would be too hard and futile to last another four years. So I broke down and listened to him speak. The very first thing I heard him say was that the US voters had just given him “capital” and he was going to “spend” it (on some ridiculous policy, as I recall).
My eyes were near-bloodshot with disgust: you don’t spend capital, of course, you invest it. Income is what you spend—and Bush’s Iraq War crime was indeed a reckless spending of our nation’s capital.
The insufferable man could not get even that basic language right—and we had just given this unmitigated disaster (and gibberish speaker) a second term.
In any case, that’s my POTUS limited embargo story.
10
All the negative and jealous comments against this man totally prove his point. Calm down people, he is one man with a different way of coping and doing something positive in his local environment.
17
Then I would counter that is he will be aiding in the destruction of the global environment. He is selfish and privileged.
2
I've thought about doing the same thing, going off the grid, and leaving concern about the future to others.
But I am a former liberal.
I realized that democracy in the US is dying. And it is not because of the hated white patriarchs.
It is because of liberals who have refused to allow a full discussion of inconvenient issues.
In 1986 the US passed an Immigration Reform Act. But it has been widely ignored. The US has since increased by about 85 million.
That has had a profound effect on California. Ghettos have grown in LA, Hoovervilles have sprouted along Highway 101, the freeways are always crowded, new condos sprout like mushrooms, and LA long ago drained the Colorado River, and now endures incessant drought.
Yes, the drought is probably partly due to global warming, but global warming would not have occurred without global population growth.
We were warned by the Limits to Growth by Meadows et al in 1972.
America's intellectuals regarded this essay as the raving of crackpots but Deng Xiaoping seems to have used it to justify China's one child policy.
Now China's economy is outstripping that of the US. With fewer children, China can educate those children to be an effective workforce.
The US instead pays poor women to have four children with four different fathers. The result? The US now has 14 times the incarceration rate of Japan.
But this problem is invisible to liberals who cheer the feminists as they shame powerful men without due process.
1
I would argue the problems you describe for our country is 35 years of trickle-down Reaganomics.
Germany has faced the same globalization but they train people for the trades and high-tech manufacturing.
We got richer billionaires, more poverty, worse education, worse healthcare, and an opioid crisis.
5
Enchanting, but kind of a cop-out. I was also stupefied by Trump's presidency (he wasn't "elected".. it was an E.C. fluke), but I didn't tune out. I determined to speak out and "resist" any way I could. But, not to stress and stew over the damage done by this vain petulant person. America's institutions are strong enough to survive even the worst possible hotshot impersonating a president.
2
It appears that Mr Hagerman has the means and a method of not eating the Bread of Anxiety - no matter how much is offered to him.
1
In some ways, he sounds like a modern-day Thoreau.
6
What a delightful piece, written with humor. Mr. Hagerman’s critics are too harsh. Maybe it’s better to be ignorant than to rant and do nothing.
11
From your description, this fatuous "communications professional" (how he ever conned anyone into paying him anything for any "service" he might have been capable of rendering is utterly incomprehensible) has been a completely self-absorbed cipher all of his earthly existence.
I have him on ignore (ironic?)
2
Somehow Pericles comes to mind. “Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you.”
27
yes! Because he's now on front page of nytimes with people around the world opining about him.
3
What a striking balance! Mr. Hagerman avoided learning anything that happened in America after November 8, 2016, while the president avoided learning anything that happened before.
21
Having worked in Nebraska and Indiana, I have some idea for the type of land where Mr. Hagerman lives. To his credit, he worked and cultivated his life to give himself this opportunity. If he wants to enjoy and amplify the beauty that surrounds him, them all the better. He also gets to spend quality time with his family. We all assume that future days a given and that family will be around for us to enjoy.
Sometimes, you just need to drop out. I quit my job in IT last year to spend time with family, study, and pursue a relationship that did not last. Endless work can make you myopic, a trait which I observe in my sister. I've had her tell me as much in very clear terms. Whether it came after I blew up on her neighbor's kid, or when I warn her about idiot drivers nearby on the highway. She is so passive that it enrages me; she really feels that she has no power over the world, whereas I dropped out to strategize and have *more* power over the world. Slowing down can magnify your strength for the next installment of your life, but my sister has turned herself and her four kids into endotherms. I used to joke that the world was filling with Elios and that Morlocks were running the show. The ratio here is 5 to 1.
Mr. Hagerman, please test the water in that lake before you go swimming in it.
4
He's not a man, but an overgrown five-year old with fingers in his ears. If it doesn't affect me, it's not really happening. This is a portrait of an odd type of privilege, with a side order of typical American selfishness.
10
Mr. Hagerman is enjoying all of the benefits of living in a democracy, but chooses not to be engaged? There are enough people (as Jay Leno learned from talking to "the man or woman on the street) who are ignorant of so many elements of the world that shape them. But there is no honor in being the most extreme of isolationists for someone educated. Yes, it might be a life without stress which we would all love to live, but when events and decisions compel it, one has to speak out. Even an ostrich lifts its head from time to time and observes the risks (and pleasures) around.
7
Trump presidency is proof America is depraved and inherently immoral, forcing hipster corporatist to escape with millions earned. Is this guy serious? What a hypocrite. He didn’t expatriate. He’s able to make this goofy because of the political system he can no longer tolerate nor participate in. The NYT should have asked why he didn’t move. Perhaps suggesting Vietnam as an alternative; he could work in the Nike factory there.
6
Didja read what Steve Bannon's been up to lately?
He's in Europe, no?
I too have longed to be free of this mess. We all want to free ourselves from pain.
Time to leave your safe space and join the world again, Mr. Hagerman. Light and darkness are a pair. You can't know love without pain.
4
On the one hand, Erik doesn't participate at all in civic discourse...such as it is. No letters to his congressman or senators. One does wonder how he will determine who to vote for in the fall, if he even votes.
On the other hand, we all would have to admit that the political news today is PAINFUL. All there is...is conflict. Total conflict. Would probably be the same if Hillary was elected, with the mainstream media attempting to make a mountain out of every mole hill as opposed to having Trump make the mountains for them.
People on the right, and far left, apparently gravitate to sensational news. The more sensational, the better. Truth is too mundane...a lie spreads so much quicker, maybe because it's so much juicer. Trump supplies the lies today. The alt-right would supply the lies in a Clinton administration. The net affect is the same. As long as a significant percentage of the population are drawn to sensational lies, this republic will suffer.
Gotta keep that in mind when criticizing Erik. The constant barrage of lies from the white house and right wing media is corrosive. A better path might be to limit exposure as much as possible while still retaining some sense of how badly things are going. Remember the words from Burke,
“Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it.”
4
If the man wants to tune out, that is his privilege and his right. He is not abdicating social responsibility. He is not selfish. He is an individual pursuing his own definition of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Or sanity. Your judgements about this person you have never met are tiresome and predictable. Why must you try to fit his decision and lifestyle into your personal agendas? For my two cents...the still photography in this piece is existential and provocative. Stellar.
12
I was hesitant to start reading this article. At first, I thought it was based on survey data: the male respondent who knew the least about current events, politics, etc. But when I learned it was about a man who deliberately blocked all news of everything, I stopped reading. I didn't want to know.
2
Incredible privilege aside, I hope that most people don't emulate this man's lifestyle - or the United States will be more doomed than ever. We need an informed public that will vote on issues and not stick their heads in the sand and give up because the environment has become unpleasant. For freedom and democracy we must be informed and fight for it, if necessary, for our entire lives.
7
What if Trump borrowed Hagerman's credit cards and ran up debt giving cash to wealthy people and corporations?What if Trump borrowed Hagerman's car, farm and draft-age relatives for 4 to 8 years? And did nothing about his young relatives being visited by gunmen in schools, or being deported?
Would he just not be curious about how things are going?
9
In this country we have the blessing of a surfeit of news coverage no matter how serious or shallow it may be. YOU are allowed to apply your common sense in deciding what it all means. YOU are allowed to express your conclusions in either the local coffee shop or your congressman’s office. YOU are allowed to VOTE your convictions. Fulfilling these responsibilities is demanded by billions of thwarted human lives throughout history. Liberals had thought that the beast which lives in us all had been tamed and were disheartened when it re-emerged. We must rededicate our lives to recaging the beast and strengthening the cage with social norms. Not doing so will make us meat for the beasts next meal.
1
So he's virtually a monk. So what? The contemplative life is not for everyone, but it's a valid life choice.
6
I mean yeah, if I was a wealthy white dude and had the privledge of opting out the news cycle without fear of unknowingly loosing many of my fundamental rights in the process, I would too. The reality is different for many of us. And when this is all over, he’ll return to a (hopefully) different news cycle, but it will be one we fought so hard and tirelessly to restore while he was gone. I don’t see much to be admired here.
6
Of course it's utterly fabricated what he's accomplished(?). All art is political. Whether you want it to be or not. The clothes he buys, his subaru, the house and its geography. Whether he chooses to be involved or not, he's involved. Now he's only set himself up to make uninformed decisions and made himself vulnerable to corruption. I think the general idea of this article is potent and real, that upper middle class white Americans are culpable in their complicity. But anyone who sits back and watches the world around them burn because they own a helicopter, I just can't pull for. I'm happy he can afford to opt-out of his citizenry, but I would never want to support an artist who has decided he can't deal with what those he is selling his art to must.
2
Art is not just original; it has to be also meaningful. Is his art an expression of his life -- vacuous? Is that what the piece over his bed means? Maybe it should be titled, "Ignorance or Apathy? I don't know and I don't care."
1
Well, sounds like an Extreme Ostrich Approach:
Bury your head in the sand.
Of course, everyone's entitled (within law-abiding limits) to life their lives as they see fit.
This particular approach happens to do nothing to help address, or remedy, the ills currently plaguing our country. It makes no contribution to a broader community: no activism and no efforts to put better candidates in office (or, for example, take back Congress in upcoming elections).
It's more about disengagement; about cocooning oneself; about protecting an unwillingness to confront harsh realities or take action.
To each his own....
3
Mr. Hagerman and I share the luxury of having the financial resources (retirement, in my case) to make life choices outside of the mainstream. We also share a horror at the election of Trump, but responded to it in diametrically different ways. Although I had many projects planned, the Trump/Republican/Koch brothers/Evangelical assault on our democracy demanded a response. I would have liked to complete my end of life projects, but there is an urgency to our political situation that does not allow any of us to put our heads in the sand. I am trying (along with all other decent persons) to fight the Trump travesty and secure our democracy. Mr. Hagerman's project is self-indulgent at best but more likely monumentally irresponsible. As for the "Times", this is really a trivial piece that belongs in the Huff Post.
JD
4
This is the opposite and the same as a political bubble. Too much of the same information leads to no information. He's sheltered to the extreme.
1
He should read the basics of Kant a little more closely. If we formed the universal maxim and everyone behaved as Mr. Hagerman, society would crumble. Living seperately in one's fantasy world where they reap the benefits of society (i.e. working as a white male) would no longer be possible.
10
There's something to be said for doing a periodic 'blockade' as a way of refreshing oneself. This doesn't imply complete disengagement from civic life, but taking a vacation from it every once in awhile can be a healthy thing.
6
My hero; I've done a more watered-down version of the blockade, and it's soothing for the soul. I am not ignorant of the news in the past year; I merely glance at the headlines and find that's all I need and want to hear. He's smarter and better informed than most, in my opinion.
11
Techie escapes to Ohio (having looted more than his share of the commons), and comes to believe that abstinence from involvement in the messy world of governance is the only way to free himself from an addiction to it. His virtual reality is abandoned for the reality of the land. He discovers for himself the meaning of "cultivate your own garden". The real stories are more interesting - his addiction to, and identification with the "news", was engineered by people like himself in his former life. Global warming will intrude on his 45 acre sanctuary and he may or may not live long enough to discover the fact that vigilance can be adaptive, rather than addicting. Managing the complexity of the incessantly overly intrusive world is particularly hard for the easily distracted. Increasing income inequality is at the heart of much of the chaos that is modern life. Perhaps he knows too little because he did not want to know too much.
16
This is kind of like the quietism that many Christian groups have undertaken over the years, the separation from the sinful world. Kind of, but not really, at least from what I can see in the article. But it's interesting to see how they are similar and how they converge. Quietism is at a low ebb in religious circles now, as a conscious policy. Involvement is "in." If it resurfaced, would it be the kind of bought-and-paid-for separatism we see here?
3
NYT article makes only brief mention he is a visual artist and focused on his desire for quiet and solitude. Looking at online art images it appears he does not want to be influenced by chaos which can taint his work. He is a purist and quite possibly Buddhist in his views. As an artist I do understand how the current political chaos stirs fear for the future of our country and can influence the arts. He is to be admired for his choice of isolation.
10
Wow, I think this is an incredible commitment. (To what I am not sure...I guess to one's mental health?) I have grappled with this idea myself, because the daily news cycle is like a daily punch in the gut, but I can't do it. I feel like it's my duty as an American to pay attention. And to march, to sign petitions, to call my representatives, and to have conversations with my acquaintances. That's how America works, and that is how we have made it this far and this long. You can't have a true democracy without civic engagement.
21
Hagerman's solution might be different if he was a parent. And as long as he lives his life in isolation, I guess it's ok. I find it more than a bit egocentric that he actually expects his family and even their friends to kowtow to his wishes when he visits. But he shouldn't kid himself. The world touches him with every check re receives that benefits his luxury of the life he has chosen.
24
There are times when I long for an experiment like this...I'm not sure I could do it for more than a week or two, but even that would be cleansing...Sadly, I think part of our collective problem is that too few people actually engage and reflect upon 'real news' and cocoon in their respective news bubbles confirming their own perspectives. Maybe we can all use a news cleanse, but follow with a broadening of our news sources and civilized engagement thereafter.
7
That sounds appealing. . . let me know when you find a "conservative" Trump supporter willing to stipulate to facts and argue in good faith. I haven't found a single one, and I've looked.
3
I'm not commenting on the news blockade (whatever...) but rather the life of solitude on the pig farm. Solitude, and the single life, is highly, highly underrated. That is the youngest, calmest-looking 53-year old male I think I have ever seen. Glad to live in a society that allows people to walk their own distinct paths. Would that every individual path received support and acknowledgement, as a society, rather than assuming everyone has the same milestones and markers at the same ages. We don't.
29
The GOP’s exploding regulations destroys our world one piece at a time while Congress profits. If the government-abused-by-Congress or by Ohio’s legislature compelled mining companies in southern Ohio to restore their damages, then private people like Mr. Hagerman, God bless him, could expend personal funds on his own interests. Koch Industries inter alia exemplify private destruction of public interests while forcing restoration to socialist-solutions or no-solutions, or those like Mr. Hagerman’s, which by the way have nothing to do with avoiding news. Privately capitalizing destruction makes public socialism unavoidable, which the GOP complains about while estopping capitalistic solutions by televised giant-Paper-Executive-Orders’ destruction of regulations formerly benefiting every private citizen and child, even Koch Industries. The only alternative to socialistic reparations is private-fixing or junking the only heritage we have by letting damage be. Congress has some nerve.
2
This seems like the American dream realized. White hard-working male uses accumulated wealth to indulge in whatever makes him most happy. Leaves it to others to fight the new war on democratic principles and structures that granted him his shot in the first place. Detached Gen-Xer all the way. Maybe Lin-Manuel Miranda can write a musical about Erik Hagerman one day.
28
Let's be honest with ourselves. What good does it do to constantly feed our angst and whine to each other? Many respondents are scornful of Mr. Hagerman and seem to think they don't have the "luxury" of ignoring the constant babble. But I haven't yet read a response that talks about what the respondent is actually DOING with all of the essential knowledge being gained.
17
Mr. Hagerman's choice, as appealing as it may sound for lower one's blood pressure in this Trumpian age, is nevertheless a complete abrogation of the resposibility of every citizen. Apathy poses a major threat to our democracy and only serves the autocratic aspirations of Trump.
4
As citizens in democracy do we have responsibilities as well as rights?
And is one of those responsibilities to be an informed voter?
On the other hand, one doesn't need a lot of details to know the Republicans are the party of tax cuts for the rich and roll back environmental protections for the rest.
18
Because each and every one of us are teachers. And the people you may least suspect to be listening, many times are. Nuance is the road to truth, and if you don't know what you're talking about, those that are listening won't either.
2
At age 85 I remember the lifestyle of relatives in the first half of the twentieth century in our part of rural New York state—no TV or internet, local newspapers with headlines like "Ten Cows Struck by Lightning," trust that Roosevelt's America looked out for everyone, daily gabfests by the men around the pot-bellied stove in the general store or around the pool table in the barbershop, elation by my grandmother when she started to get a small sum from Social Security.
We are unhappily lost in Trump's vision of government and his comforting "chaos" is a term that can now be applied to our society in general.
I applaud Mr. Hagerman for his stand, but also see that we can't afford to stick our head in the sand.
33
Most of the commentary has been fairly hostile. I think that is because Mr. Hagerman's "blockade" - which is actually a form of Quietism - is an open admission of something most of us would rather not accept: there is nothing that I individually or in association with others can really do. How does an engaged spectator materially affect outcomes any more than someone who simply abjures the spectacle? We like to comfort ourselves with the myth that a Democratic revolution is in the offing, but what is remarkable is how few marches and demonstrations there have been. Parkland students descended on Congress to agitate for reform, but the momentum has since evaporated. A republic of citizens has been replaced by atomized masses. Once venerable institutions that formed public opinion have been replaced by advertising firms fighting for electoral market share. Elections today are glorified polls with the mandate lasting for no more than a week. Individuals in a democratic society are empowered by associations. What we have today are a two-year cycle of pointless elections that empower individuals in their ignorance. The sad truth is that neither your vote, nor your participation, matters.
11
A lot of us will disagree and continue to participate and to vote.
And I would argue that we have seen some results in various special elections already.
Also, I hear lots of people saying their children who are graduating high school or in college will all vote Democratic.
In which case, I hope to see change in another ten years.
15
You have a strange definition of evaporating. Just today we were told the DOJ is going to ban bumpstocks, something we thought might happen after Las Vegas but took the MSD students to carry over the line, and the Florida governor who wants to be a senator checked which way the wind is blowing and came out for raising the age to purchase long guns. Those aren't nothing. Those achievements are the result of engaged citizens making clear what they want to happen in government, and some politicians taking it to heart. (Not enough; the polling on gun issues runs well ahead of the NRA-backed pols, but a week ago no one would've predicted Rick Scott's position.) Checking out is not how essential change happens, that's down to people being informed and vocal. You are of course welcome to abdicate that responsibility. It's a free country, after all, at least for now.
10
Actually, you have a strange definition of "achievement" since neither of the ones you've cited have actually happened. Talk, as the saying goes, is cheap - I wouldn't hold my breath. Even so, what you've cited is the lowest of the low-hanging fruit and guaranteed to make precisely zero difference. Wishful thinking and sentimental bromides are a poor excuse for essential change. Nevertheless, there will be radical change, but it won't come from "enraged citizens" responsible liberal do-gooders. In 40 years, Parkland Fla. will be under 3 to 6 feet of water, millions of Americans will be living as climate refugees, and the Baby Boomers will thankfully all be dead. No one will care anymore about bump stocks, immigrants, #metoo, white working class midwesterners or kneeling football players.
This guy's behavior shows unfortunately the mindset of the far left. They can't even stand the idea of the existence of opposing view points. Exactly why the far left is always trying limit freedom of speech. Prime example is the intolerance at most colleges and universities for any diversity of thought.
Nice looking house / property.
10
We don't mind freedom of speech.
But I don't feel like a campus has to give someone an opportunity to say evolution is not real for example.
On the other hand, they are free to speak their nonsense to whoever will listen.
Then there the Pizzagate example of free speech:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/22/us/pizzagate-attack-sentence.html
Good luck to you and yours.
I am retiring to Europe.
MASA - Make America Smart Again.
4
Nice try, but no cigar.
The "far left" is not trying to limit the "freedom of speech". A closer examination will reveal that they are often pushing back against racist and sexist rants by people who have no problem getting access to the microphone, while those on the other end of such rants get short shrift. It's not really the "existence of opposing view points" so much as fighting against those who devalue their very existence. Quite a different situation.
And it is the right that has created and run media silos, starting with Fox News, that don't harbor opposing points of view. That has been going on for decades, so you can stop the notion that this is the mindset of "the far left."
3
For more free speech, there is Sean Hannity saying "the Nunes memo makes Watergate like stealing a Snickers bar."
Somehow we don't hear Hannity saying that anymore.
He is entitled to say those things to whoever will listen.
But university students are smarter than that and don't want their universities used for lies and propaganda.
MASA
2
An interesting piece .Mr.Hagerman is persuing what I
personally could not . The issue of boredom can and
might be addressed by delving into old films and
literature . It may be a more fulfilling and spiritually
uplifting in his quest of a newsless life .
2
i hope to do the same thing when i retire, if that ever happens. The seclusion money can buy. In theory.
2
I am amazed at the anger directed toward Mr. Hagerman, as if his life somehow represents the height of selfishness while immersing yourself daily in the tidal wave of information about which most of us will do nothing, probably concluding that nothing we do will make a difference, is somehow the height of virtue. Hagerman instead has decided to live his life in the immediacy of the world that surrounds him, undoubtedly thinking that the world that is his life is worth more of his time than agonizing over situations over which he has no control, e.g. war with North Korea or the imposition of trade tariffs. In my book it's called minding your own business and if our country were to do more of that, I think the rest of the world's inhabitants would feel a lot more secure.
69
Carl Hall, Something over which you do have control is whether to re-elect Repub. Rep. Doug LaMalfa. In case you're interested, there's a forum Sunday at 1pm at the Foothills Event Center w' the three Democratic women hoping to unseat him.
5
More likely we would soon find ourselves living under a Putin kleptocracy. Democracy requires an informed and engaged citizenry. Why do you think the first order of business for a would-be autocrat is to attack and delegitimize an independent and any other institutional checks on his power. Sound familiar?
4
There are many ways to be a good citizen - the Lake is one way.
23
I admire his will power, which admittedly he doesn't need to summon 5 days a week in an office. But, he is right. For all of our protesting and marches, our disdain of Trump & Co, we have very little effect other than voting. Besides, news is business, it must sell. So, why subject ourselves to an onslaught of media served up with big portions of commentary and opinion? I absolutely avoid TV news, catch some NPR, read portions of The Times and The Guardian, but find myself happier when I avoid it all together. And posting my occasional comment, its my way of venting.
24
TV news is especially toxic, imo. I do go days without watching. I read headlines online and also hear a little NPR. Podcasts are great!
1
If progressives didn't keep up on the news there would be no consequence for the president breaking campaign finance laws -- it's only a story because we're paying attention. Had we all chosen to tune out after the latest mass shootings, we wouldn't be seeing the movement we are to refuse accepting the NRA's vision of safety. If no one cared that Rob Porter beat his wives, we would still have dozens of WH employees unable to pass a background check and accessing top-secret materials. In all likelihood, at least some of them have monetized that access. It's because we are intolerant of so much wrongdoing that even a bit of it is being repaired. Leaving it to corporations and politicians is the road to fascism. I'm glad so many of us feel it's our duty to prevent that as much as possible.
7
There must be plenty of people who are doing the same but for different reasons. Remember that only a minority of Americans vote in elections.
14
Yes. There's also a sizable contingent that refuses to inform themselves but are still vocal. The rest of us are needed to counter their disinformation with facts.
7
This isn't a bad idea. Blocking out the news is something I'm considering, although I don't have the means to go as far as Hagerman but his general assessment - that it doesn't help one iota to stay abreast of current events on a microscopic, daily level like we do nowadays - is a wise one. However, if I do go this route I will still vote in all elections, just ask my friends who to vote for and get that ballot in.
5
My blockade last for about a month after the election. Eventually, I could no longer look away from our national train wreck. As long as Mr. Hagerman votes in November, I don’t see where he’s done any harm. I’m more concerned about people who know what’s going on and don’t plan to vote.
29
Life imitating an "art project".
Could be the subject of an upcoming David Byrne song...but alas...probably not a full musical.
Fantastic. And it's utterly achievable in New York, too. But we're not bored.
3
I envy him . When I saw he was from Southeast Ohio , I understand. The landscape is littered with billboards promoting guns & the Bible (together) and Trump. Thank goodness his family got away to see life outside the region.
9
Dear NYT,
How about fewer articles about privileged white males who can simply disconnect from the reality around them? Many of us in this country have had enough of white male privilege, and don't need to hear more about the selfishness of people like Hagerman. It's lovely that he wants to conserve 45 acres of wilderness, but perhaps his money could be more effectively spent by helping ensure that everyone has clean drinking water. This article is a waste of resources - like my time.
37
He's not at all disconnected. He knows his family, his town, and the many inhuman inhabitants of his land. He knows his own mind and the changing world around him. He just isn't paying attention to the larger world outside of his own daily life. Why is that privileged?
2
How is working for your own money a privilege?
3
The salamanders would not agree with you.
1
I'm surprised at the vitriol here. He sounds like a smart, creative man with good will toward the world, choosing to inhabit it in his own way. I live in Nike land. Of course, he's loaded. He admits to privilege. All he is doing is avoiding news from outside his own daily life. He obviously knows the "local" news - what the salamanders are eating, what the weather's like. I suspect that a lot of the anger expressed toward him here is laden with envy and annoyance at the commenters' own inability to disconnect from media now and then.
38
Speaking for myself, it's also annoyance that his ability to check out is proportionate to my willingness to remain engaged and to fight for things like clean water that he and his land no doubt benefit from. It's a free-rider problem, like not carrying health insurance, or not vaccinating one's children.
2
This man is very fortunate. He missed the implosion of the stock market, rampant unemployment, nuclear war with Korea, and Trump’s impeachment last year.
7
If he wants to ignore the world, fine . But his sounds like a sad existence to me. To each his own, I guess.
3
He loves nature, he loves his routine, he has friends, he has his coffee shop, he sees his mom, he travels, he enjoys his own company. Doesn't sound at all sad to me.
1
This article and this guy are things I have had no success in caring about. In the slightest.
13
another whiny, prideful liberal. i wonder how long this stunt will last.
7
All those who are angry at this guy, who merely goes a lot farther than I do while he and I have the same attitude almost exactly: Prove to me that I have agency. Prove to me that my 'knowledge' has any effect at all. See, what I deny is that your 'engagement' has consequence.
Oh actually, I do not deny that at all, 'engagement' has plenty of consequence. It is determinative in the tenor of your friendships and social life. It determines the feeling tone of your interactions, and so is hugely important that way.
BUT. Are any of the 'events' that we see on tv ever affected by ME? Yes I know, they are affected by 'us'. But if I opt out, show me one iota of change.
No, I do not say this publicly, because I realize it is anathema to my friends, but I dialed back considerably on my news consumption and am pleased I did so as this guy is. I see headlines, hear snatches of conversation. But dig in and read the whole story? NO! I know there is a thing with Trump and North Korea now. It's tempting to actually read an article. What's happening? Who is doing what? I do not bite.
If you can prove to me that any knowledge of mine about North Korea had ANY effect on any OUTCOME, I might reconsider.
Yes I know this attitude makes people angry. That's what I meant about knowledge having consequences. The consequences are entirely in my personal friend circle. That is what I have to manage. The outer world? I do NOT affect it. It takes care of ITSELF.
18
You remind me of people who sniffed that Clinton "didn't earn" their votes. The rest of us aren't here to convince you of anything. You can either choose to engage in citizenship, or to slither away in the service of your own hedonism. Good citizens evaluate the candidates on offer and make informed voting decisions. Better citizens citizens go into public service and place the needs of the community above their own. How utterly childish to stand around with one's arms crossed, demanding people spoonfeed you democracy.
3
Honestly, there are times that I wish I could do the same. But I can't. Being a grandfather, I am sick worried that my children and my grandson will be badly hurt from the decisions that are made in the White House. I am old enough and realistic enough to know that my views, expressed here and elsewhere, most probably won't change anyone's mind about anything. But, I see that as a way to feel that I am not alone, but connected to the rest of humanity. And , when I see (i.e. read) so much wisdom in some of the comments, I become hopeful of the future.
24
Sooner or later Mr Hagerman, or maybe historians, will have to thank his initial inspiration.
I understand that the whole reason Mr. Hagerman started his news "blockade" was because he wanted to avoid the expected stress that would come from paying attention to the news. But, it seems he's going to far, far more trouble keeping the news out than the news itself would cause. His friends and family have to be careful not to let their tongues slip. He watches basketball games on mute. He listens to white noise in public instead of enjoying music, because of the slight chance he might hear a hint of someone's conversation, which may or may not be political. Keeping those barriers up has to be extremely stressful, and to me it sounds like a reduction in quality of life. It sounds like he can't enjoy being around other people, because he is so fixated on keeping any news out. That to me is far too extreme an overreaction to a president you dislike being elected.
Look, I'm no fan of the current administration, either, but if anything I've been following the news more closely since Trump's term began. If you want to be a good citizen, you have to stay informed, not bury your head in the sand.
354
Hayden, I understand your point, but sometimes such breathers are necessary.
I took such a breather--a very long one--when Reagan was elected. I am now quite active in the political process.
You need to bear with other people, understand their limits, and understand that their future might be very different from the present.
35
I agree that breathers are needed. Believe me, sometimes I'm so scared that I have to retreat in order to calm myself, but this sounds like more of a breather. I think it's extreme, but that's just me (maybe not just) and while his vote may not be missed, I sure hope there aren't many more like him, because we need to retake the House & Senate and it won't happen with people just tuning the situation out.
2
. . .and consider that this man, well-educated and world-traveler, has read and lived enough history to be where I was before that election, i.e., concerned about complacency of the middle class who had to take classes titled "Vietnam War" to not be ignorant.
As a retired medically-trained attorney, I salute this man's path forward and his focus on a karmic vision that is uniquely his to offer.
Shame on the headline writer who chose the word "ignorant" . . .to get eyeballs and not reflect at all this one man's sojourn.
4
I see several comments about "white privilege" but in fact the thrust of his life is accessible to anyone who wants it - it's a matter of the choices you make. Outsiders are, by definition, minorities - they live on the margins. Anyone can be an outsider. Do you think Henry Darger knew who controlled Congress?
4
Do you honestly think the majority of Americans have the option of driving an hour for a cup of coffee, and of throwing away their quarterly financial statements? You sound as checked out as Mr. Hagerman.
3
I can relate to Erik Hagerman. I quit the news for about a month after the November 2016 election. This is a little easier for me since I slipped north, over the border. I focused on the news of Canada where not much seems to happen. The issues that preoccupy the south (abortion, healthcare, immigration, guns, gays) are, if not completely settled, are at least less inflammatory. Big news in Canada is the wayward Puffin found in Toronto which was airlifted back to the Atlantic where it belonged. On a lot of things Canada is where I hope the US will be some day.
But I missed being able to converse about current events and became uncomfortable with being so ill informed after a lifetime of being an avid news follower. So I returned to reading the news, though more often than not I just glance at the US political headlines. It's a bit predictable you know: just imagine a country where the worst people imaginable are appointed to lead institutions that they don't believe in.
227
"O Canada." We yearn for the values and understanding of life that is displayed by that country (not that they're absolutely perfect). Every time I buy sandpaper and see "Made in Canada" on the back of it, I feel appreciative of that product gleaned from their great forests. I appreciate their sensible parliamentary form of government (would we could so easily vote Trump out of office.)
But I am a proud American and can only pray some of Canada's ways will rub off on us.
24
Just imagine a country where people check out physically and mentally because one election didn’t go their way.
9
I'm in Toronto and I can assure you there are plenty of Canadians who converse passionately and knowingly about American politics.
20
so he's loaded.
10
Funny how the "well he's just making a choice, anyone can do the same" crowd ignores how this man's wealth insulates him from what are, to many of us, life and death matters. They're saying ACA premiums will rise 90% and the protections for pre-existing conditions will fall away with the other essential health benefits mandated by Obamacare. At 53 he perhaps hasn't yet had to deal with the costs of aging; it seems likely he can afford the healthcare he needs. He's not in danger of being deported, or discriminated against because of his sexuality or religion. He's the poster boy for "When they came for me, there was no one left to speak," believing as he seems to that other people's travails aren't his to prevent or ameliorate.
3
The majority of Americans agree that Trump is vile, always was vile. Millions of us have marched, sacrificed, written and followed up intensively on the malfeasance of Trump. We millions have tried mightily to right the wrongness of vile Trump.
We have achieved nothing. Trump is a painful presence. He inflicts malevolence, it is exactly who he is. Tuning Trump out 100%, well, that is one chosen way to take a stand as a human. Learning of his commitment (thank you NYTs) is unique, and satisfying to me that there is a fellow human who has “gone the distance”, whereas, the majority of us pale by comparison, but not in spirit. Trump is truly THAT painful, a disgusting human.
Fellow readers: You apparently do not understand what Mr. Hagerman feels. It is the same loathing of Trump that you and I feel, another method of expressing it. To each his OWN decision. Human privilege indeed.
13
We've won 38 elections that, three years ago, would have gone GOP. It's fine for people to check out, as one does with a disability, but they really shouldn't pretend it's an honorable commitment, or that those of us who remain engaged despite the pain are not making a difference. #MeToo didn't happen because we kept looking away. Charlottesville was met with the disgust required to prevent fascism. Rick Scott didn't sign off on making bumpstocks illegal because he thought it was a good idea, he did it because of a political calculation the majority in his state is fed up with mass shootings. So Mr. Hagerman is free to watch the grass grow, but he doesn't also get to believe he's discharging the duties of citizenship honorably. He's not, anymore than someone who fraudulently ducks jury duty, or who fails to vote.
It is one thing to take a vacation from the news, but to totally disengage, simply seems selfish, particularly for someone whom a lot of Americans would see as privileged.
If all the “good” people turned their heads because the news is depressing, the world would be in even worse shape than it is now.
While Mr. Hagerman’s small local project is admirable, it is not enough to justify him protecting himself from extreme current events.
None of us can on our own change the world. But we all can contribute in the smallest of ways. That does add up and can make a difference.
If Mr. Hagerman read the news, he would know, for example, that Anthony Borges, who was shot several times at Stoneman Douglas High School, is back in intensive care after yet another operation. There is a GoFundMe campaign to help his family pay his medical bills.
https://www.gofundme.com/anthonyborges
But Mr. Hagerman has no idea who Anthony is… he has insulated himself from crying for this young man and making any gesture to help him.
If we are to strive for a just and healthy society, we must all stay informed and engaged, no matter how depressing that will be.
17
This comment thread reveals a lot more about the alarming state of mind of anti-Trumpers than it does Mr. Hagerman.
Very disturbing, frankly.
9
If you thought we'd roll over and allow your type to trash this country, I can understand how disturbing it must be to find that we're not giving up without a fight, and we plan to win.
3
I envy is ignorance of Stormy Daniels.
2
He drives an hour a day in a car. That is quite destructive to the environment. That fact doesn't bother me so much as his hypocrisy. He's preserving the land. Okay, great, congratulations--but don't act like you're saving the world. This dude sounds like a terrible hang.
14
Gee, I had not realized the depth of his transgressions until seeing this response. If he drives an hour a day, he's destroying us as surely as the current government is. Thanks so much for pointing this and his "hypocrisy" out to me.
1
No problem, Janice.
I have no idea why some middle-aged crank deserves so much attention in the Times. If he wants to hide from the world, he's welcome to. But his life is as cowardly as reading about it is monotonous.
17
I bet he'll read about himself though, self-centered and privileged as he is. I have no respect for people who check out.
9
Why is this a liberal fantasy? Pejorative use to describe someone who is simply a bad citizen, tho perhaps a good, limited scale environmentalist.
7
The tone of the article presents him as a jerk. There's absolutely nothing wrong with this idea, or how far the idea is taken. Only that it was published and, thus, exposed to critical review. Did he get the results of the publication? One would think not, but the question should be asked. The answer: TBD.
3
Mr. Hagerman apparently knew so little that he did not know you do not allow your quiet retreat to be publicized.
8
It's sanity preservation to opt out of reading everything all the time. It's irresponsible to remain intentionally unaware of Nazi's taking over, etc.
4
I love this guy. Is he looking for a girlfriend!
9
The NYTimes actually cut down trees to print this silly story about a guy who can't cope with the reality. Please, save our natural resources next time.
The subject of the article has missed a stock market that has increased by +20%, a historically low jobless rate, a new tax law that actually gives a break to working people, the near destruction of ISIS, a potential breakthrough with North Korea and the list goes on. Wake up and smell the roses.
5
He didn't "miss" these things as much as he has someone else handling it all for him. (But it definitely sounds as if you missed doing the 6th grade arithmetic required to understand that the tax bill only gives a short term break to working people. You didn't read the bill, did you....)
2
A hermit for all intents and purposes.
3
Yes, economic privilege and all that. I think he probably worked at high paying jobs for years, and then bought a farm in the middle of nowhere for cheap. He's no Eric Trump. However, as nice as it may be to check out when the Nazis come to your door one day because you ignored everything, that's when its a problem. You can't ignore this administration. The immigrants are first, then maybe the gays, the Jews, the liberals, etc. People thought Trump would not do anything that he said he would do on the campaign. But he has made it clear that he will. Also, he is in Putin's pocket and owes him.
3
I find it problematic that an individual would be willfully uninformed. In this day and age, information is power and he is giving up any power he has to make the world a better place. The man who will not read and help solve problems is no better than the man who can not read.
7
I'm not opposed to the occassional news fasts. But what if a revolution broke out, or the Constitution was being blatantly threataned by some Nazi-like party? I could never forgive myself.
4
You can hide your head in the sand, but the events taking place in the world are still going to impact you.
13
So this paper's response to all the heat it caught from that Nazi puff-piece a few months ago is to write a new puff-piece about a different breed of ignorant white guy? Way to completely miss the point, guys.
4
My initial post-election coping mechanism was also to avoid news. In doing so, I discovered the fun of crossword puzzles, which I had never been good at, but am now addicted to. Thank you, Failing New York Times!
3
This man is my hero. His lifestyle is my Dream. Ahh, to be free of the madness...
6
An amazing, selfish, ostrich-like abdication of his responsibilities as a citizen---leaving others to preserve the freedoms he now enjoys. Imagine if everyone did this. Does he really think that the dark forces won't eventually come for him?
There's a reasonable middle-ground between obsessive news consumption and this. He should try it.
11
Well, to be fair, he is a rich white guy - so he'll probably be safe from the dark forces for way longer than the rest of us. ;)
10
There are times when i wish I could do what Mr. Hagerman has done. Since Trump was elected I have been in a perpetual state of mild agitation. Ignorance can be bliss.
5
I may have missed it, but did he say whether he intends to vote?
4
Everyone stop hyperventilating about the Times' choice to write this piece. Reflect. I did not finish this piece because I empathized with this man or even found his "cause" convincingly worthwhile.
Instead, it's an interesting parable of our times. It provokes the question of whether it is possible to develop post-traumatic politics. It asks where our sense of community comes from, and if it can possibly come from outside an imaginary, digitized media realm. It poses "retreat" as a Thoreau-style refusal to engage. People thought Thoreau ridiculous too.
But the parable is worth considering, and if this guy wants to pitch his life into creating something for the rest of us to think about, a radical act of disengagement, that's on him.
8
The sister said it correctly - it is privilege, he has money (seemingly a lot), is White, a born-U.S. citizen and a man.
many of use who don't have these privileges can NOT tune out because daily politics affects our lives as women (e.g. reproductive care), as people of color (e.g. unpunished police violence, decline in affirmative action, gerrymandering), as immigrants, etc. ...
7
The word "ignorance" does not seem to fit here. Mr. Hagerman knows a lot, that is why he decided to stop reading news.
The real "ignorance" should be used to describe people who read and hear many things, both real and fake, but do not have the independent mind and background knowledge to judge them reasonably and correctly. Those are very vulnerable to manipulation and brain-washing.
On the one hand I am envious of Mr. Hagerman, but on the other hand I feel we should keep fighting for the good outcomes for everyone including the very "ignorant" people.
7
For some months after the election, I stopped reading news related to Donald Trump,and now I read headlines and do a little skimming, but I tend to turn away with closed eyes and a murmur of "Oh, God." I focus on local news now, and that's bad enough.
I adhere to my ban on watching television news or videp clips: Seeing Trump actually walking and moving his lips is nauseating to me.
Good to tend the roses.
Living on a pig farm must be interesting -- kinda like life nowadays in the White House.
4
Good analogy. I hope Trump will divert himself from Twitter a little bit as the Russia investigation closes in on him, and write a grand opus: "The Art of the Squeal."
3
"All pigs are equal, but some pigs are more equal than others" George Orwell's Animal Farm,IMHO sums up this man's existence.
Erik Hagerman of Glouster, Ohio knows he is a privileged, affluent white man who has the luxury and the means to isolate himself and to live a life in accordance with his values. I disagree that he is a man who knows too little. He knows who he is and he has chosen to live deliberately. Thoreau wrote, " To purify our lives requires simply to weed out what is foul & noxious." Hagerman believes he is meeting the moral demands of citizenship by purchasing 45 acres of a former strip mine in order to protect and preserve it for the public good, in essence, constructing his own national park area. This gives his life an ethical and higher purpose.
We are all coping in myriad ways to make sense of our national nightmare with its leadership and with the ravages of a partisanship that is eating away at our democratic principles as if it were a flesh-eating disease. I respect Erik for finding a way to cope. I can not say the same for myself.
10
One question for you, Ms. Caiozzo: what does the color of this man's skin have to do with this story? Do you see every question, every issue, through skin color?
6
Dear Azalea Lover,
In response to your query regarding if I see every question or issue through skin color, the answer is no, but being a white male, in addition to being affluent, reinforces Erik Hagerman's privileged position, making it possible to take the eccentric and extreme position of shielding himself from the news, while living in an isolated manner, with the financial means to purchase 45 acres of land for public use, while working with an environmental specialist.
He worked in the tech field which is known for being populated by white, affluent males. That is reality. I did not create that reality,
His skin color, along with his gender and wealth, situate him at the pinnacle of privilege in the U.S. I take it you "don't see color," and believe every American is born to a level playing field. Bless your heart.
This is not so different than what millions of Americans do. He happens to be distressed by all news and so avoids it. I'm distressed d by some highly partisan "news" such as Hannity and Fox and Friends. I avoid it. Many other people are blocked by paranoid fantasies from believing any mainstream news. They avoid the New York Times, and just believe things like Hannity.
4
I guess with enough money one can do whatever one pleases. But I do wonder if ignorance is bliss.
1
I'm struck by the absolute selfishness of this man. Everyone he interacts with in any way has to censor themselves, be who he expects them to be, to accommodate his whims. His world is a totalitarian state of one.
8
I can't very get too animated by this. I just don't get it and I'll bet nobody else does even though they claim to. He puts a lot of people out for what? You see, you don't get it either.
4
I found the tone of this article a bit derisive, which is to be expected seeing as how this is an article in the Times about a man apathetic to the news, but why shouldn't we all unplug and discuss Kantian philosophy over politics? From an anthropological perspective, the news has honestly been the same since the Industrial Revolution, just with different players carrying out tragedies. .
I take pause with the article implying this is something only the privileged can do. Hardly. If you're going to be affected by DACA rulings or changes in your health insurance, you're already going to be notified. What added benefit are you going to get by also listening to the verbal fantasia that spills out of Trumps mouth or trying to decipher his categorically inedciphrable tweets?
I myself have drastically cut back my news consumption and make sure that it's only from reputable sources and as a young Black female, I'm not exactly in a position of privilege in this country. I just tuned into myself and realized that shoving increasingly negative media coverage into my mind was unhealthy.
7
You're correct that if you no intention of pitching in to the battles around healthcare and immigration, it makes little sense to closely observe them. Better to passively await await the inevitable.
"Politics is but a single drop of water in the comprehensive Ocean of Life."
Sarcophagus the Elder
5
Last year, after much ugly thinking and talking, I took a 2 week no-Trump break. I turned off the radio at the mention of his name, brushed past every news headline with that featured his name, and, most importantly, quit thinking about him/it. I extended it to 3 weeks because it felt so good and I felt so much saner. Although not ready for a true blockade, I am inspired to try a mini respite again.
11
I haven't tried a real "Trump break," but I can't stand to listen to him. I quickly hit "off" or "mute" if he is speaking.
5
I remember four or five week-long periods without news during traveling - back in pre-internet times. When arriving back home, there was always the feeling that none of what had happened was really important, and that one could live well without news.
8
By conserving wetlands to leave to the public, won't Mr. Hagerman do more for his community, and for the common good, than if he were obsessively following the Trump twitter feed? Or, for that matter, tracking the bumbling corruption of the Democratic party? Does listening to NPR make us good citizens? Would that we all were as intent as Mr. Hagerman on making a positive contribution to society.
12
Why not do both. Conserve the wetlands and be a good, informed, engaged citizen. That’s what a healthy democracy demands; that’s what grown ups do.
2
The news is how one learns of wetlands in need of conserving.
1
Good for him! I find myself taking small vacations from the news and associated programs like Late Night with Colbert, Seth Meyers' program and John Oliver. When I come back to those programs, I find I like them, but get quite enough again soon. I find myself listening to classical music stations on radio or Mozart on Youtube. And the "low clearance" bridge accidents tickle my funny bone. When I read my news sources, I can scan those quickly, choose items of length sometimes, but then can move on. Watching news video or listening to NPR take too much time; one can read faster than newscasters can speak, afterall. I love Public Radio and Public Television, but find myself avoiding the news portions much of the time. Keeping up does not require total immersion!
8
Books on tape for me.
1
The gentleman from Ohio, admiration and luck to him, claims to be emotionally healthier than before; considering his former living, no wonder. Emotionally healthy people have not to dig caves of ignorance to disable ability to discriminate issues enough to vote. The gentleman voluntarily disables the discernment average persons effortlessly depend upon to determine which politicians satisfactorily will impair their interests. Non-voters need no discernment and can blissfully accept having interests beaten down. The price of his coffee will inflate, or his accounts might deflate without his knowing why. He will not know whether, or if, he is victimized, why or how. Not knowing may not assist his Mayan dream. He might think he stands alone. He does not stand alone. To each his own, but when ignorance takes down the world, no man is an island. Every person leaves to the world exactly what he labors to leave, whether he knows it or reads news or not.
12
I love this guy. I'm thrilled that someone of his means and independence is doing something this beautiful and whacky with his life.
His example is an inspirational one, and no, you don't have to be independently wealthy, childless, and single to take inspiration from what he is doing. If that's your takeaway from this wonderful piece, you are missing the entire point.
What I see in the very first picture is a well relaxed man following his bliss. Each and every one of us in our fabulously wealthy western world have the opportunity each and every day to enjoy a slice of that heavenly pie. That we choose not to is our fault.
You don't have to be rich. I've lived my entire life well below the poverty line. I just didn't sign my life away to acquire unnecessary stuff. Amazing how much space and bliss that has created in my long and thrilling life.
14
He can choose to ignore the world’s problems & the decimation of the USA because as a wealthy white man he’s unaffected by the horrors going on around him. It’s truly shameful!
3
No one said you have to be "independent, single, wealthy and childless" to take inspiration from what he's doing - but to DO exactly what he's doing, you would.
1
Sarah Teres,
There's nothing shameful here. There are many meaningful ways to engage with the world and humankind and I happen to applaud his form of engagement as I applaud all positive engagement.
Expressing outrage at the state of affairs we find ourselves in does not in and of itself constitute positive engagement.
Sometimes it's a whole lot better to apply yourself to things you truly love than things you truly hate.
1
I'm torn between envy and resentment. At first it seems a little like a child closing his eyes in order to become invisible. And then I find myself wishing I could live the way Mr. Hagerman does--if only for a little while.
The world really is too much with us and with the current occupant of White House it seems to be even more so.
8
Agreed! When I hear Trump's voice, my stomach hurts and my blood pressure rises. I'm sure this president has sent many people to doctors or therapists.
1
For those of us who are news obsessed, it is hard to know if our constant monitoring is vigilant citizenship in a turbulent world or unhealthy obsession in a world gone mad. On the one hand, having been overly consumed by bad news for two years now, I envy this man's path; on the other, I think it is kind of a cop out. If the only way to stay sane in this era is to completely tune and drop out, then not only have we let the toxic forces win, but we have essentially agreed to let them steamroll over us and our posterity. We can all choose to attend or not, I suppose--that is the nature of democracy, after all--but I do believe that being able to drop out comes from a unique place of privilege, one that takes for granted that there will continue to be civic minded people with good intentions who bear the burden of watchdogs. For Thomas Jefferson was right that, "if a nation expects to be ignorant & free, in a state of civilisation, it expects what never was & never will be."
13
Stay sane? You might have missed the point.
Are we all so terrified? I am tired of the extreme lopsided, single minded coverage of all things trump. Does any news organization do thoughtful analytic coverage of events and legislative decisions? I mostly see coverage of personality which is so filled with conjecture that it isn’t really news. Let’s all grow up at start looking at facts and stop fearing the shadows.
12
If we look at the facts, it's even scarier than if we make rude comments about Trump's appearance and personality.
1
Many of us had that impulse to disengage from political awareness after the events of last year. But it's a cop-out. He may be comfy and secure in his ignorance, but he is shirking his duty as a citizen. It figures that he voted for Trump. His unawareness must have started long before the time he says he began it.
I hate the political circus and the sleazy news cycle as much as he does, but I feel that it is my duty as a citizen and as a voter to stay informed.
It's a dirty job, but somebody has to do it.
142
He did not vote for Trump. He was traumatized by the election of Trump.
43
Figures that he voted for Trump? Where did you infer that from?
36
Traumatized by the election of Trump?
No one who has actually experienced trauma would make such a statement.
Why are you even bothering to write about this guy? Apathy is now newsworthy?
285
This is not apathy. Not many people can disconnect from their phones for even just ten minutes. We have become sheep, being led around by marketers and pundits. This man is totally unique and an inspiration to many who would like to be able to do what he is doing: being his own person.
37
How is that apathy? It takes a LOT of effort to avoid Trump's ubiquity!
11
But he's attempting to control other people's behaviour; how is that "being his own person" ?
2
Flagpole sitting in our time. Why does the NYT report on stunts?
14
Cue: Stop reading the Times or any other newspaper?
4
Is The NYT transitioning to The Onion? Thank you for sharing.
9
Well, this is an interesting article. I can sort of relate to it.
30 years ago, when I was in college, I was too poor to have a tv. I just fell out of the habit. Now I am not poor, but I never got a tv. Never turned one on. I missed out on generations of television. I have never seen Friends, Seinfeld, Sopranos, whatever, you name it, I've never seen it. I've gotten left out of a few conversations over the years, but always felt no tv gave me more hours in the week that no one else had.
I was at a baseball game once in Larry King's suite. I told him I'd never seen his show. He said, "you need to get a tv" and walked away.
I do get the news on the internet. Mostly the NYT and the WSJ.
7
How is the author of this article defining "ignorant"?
5
Silly story about a silly man.
7
Really? HE is silly? Do you see people walking into light poles while glued to their phones? Do you see hikers carrying their phones and checking emails while walking up hills? Do you know that the president tweets obsessively but can't read more than one page of any document? Hagerman is not the silly one.
3
I agree, He is leading an examined life.
should i have read this piece?
6
Thanks, NYT, for your consistent puff pieces holding up the humanity of white nationalists, white fragility and privilege to escape.
7
Does Mr. Hagerman need any help with his pigs?
6
Some questions; How long does he intend to keep this up? Forever? Or does he have some plan for how to re-enter at some point? (Has he designated someone to contact him, if, for instance, a nuclear missile is incoming? Or if the House and/or Senate turn over in 2018 and conditions improve? Or if Trump is impeached, resigns, is assassinated, falls over dead, or defects to North Korea?) Does he plan to vote in the mid-terms? How will he know if things get better - or worse?
And if he does re-enter, won’t he feel like Rip van Winkle – I almost wonder if the re-entry adjustment might leave him worse off than if he never did his “blockade.”
Personally, I’m not totally sure I approve of this. As others have pointed out, it is an option only available to the very privileged. Anyone who simply has to go to work every day is going to be exposed to discussion of the news. And it is not possible to do unless one lives fairly remote. And, he's imposing on a lot of other people, making them accommodate his wishes.
On the other hand, I can’t personally blame him for disengaging and he is trying to make his own contribution in a different way, and his project is very admirable.
I’d prefer to think there’s some happy medium – some way to channel our anxiety and distress into constructive projects, while not being addicted to the 24-hour News Cycle from Hell we’ve lived in for almost 24 months now.
5
Mr. Hagerman can hide from Trumpism only because he is wealthy and white. Lack of engagement might make him feel healthier, but it doesn't absolve him of responsibility in democracy. I can't think of one historical example that ended well when citizens of privilege chose to ignore politics.
23
Right on point. Thank you! My thoughts exactly
There are a lot of wealthy white people who indulge in $100,000 facelifts and cloning their dogs for $50,000 and buying numerous houses and redesigning their wine cellar for millions of dollars. I see them here in Los Angeles. Hagerman, a man who has made his money the honest way (not the Trump way) and decides to live a quiet life is not someone to disparage.
1
Wealthy and white?
Poor people can disengage from the news, especially political news: there's seldom any good news for poor people in reports of political news.
And white? What does skin color have to do with the decision to drop out of watching/reading news? Perhaps you look at any and every issue through the prism of skin color??
1
Great to see. Here's how I read this: A person spends years facilitating ripping off kids for sneakers and helping to ruin the immortal game of basketball, and banks so much he can retire. Now, probably through some connection in the lifestyle underground, he gets presented by the paper of record for his insistence that what he does not do is newsworthy.
This could work if what he did not do was something remarkable. But, I'm old and broke and I don't use any social media. I'm an artist & die hard liberal and I dismiss 80% of what "Liberals who control the media" say about politics and society, without white noise. Rather than white noise, my extensive reading of history forms an impenetrable bulwark against bs. I remain fully informed on matters because useless outrage yack that comprises most liberal chatter on politics fails to attach to any neurons in my head and are rejected as "bad for me."
Perhaps you need to do a story about me?
23
I think I love you.
4
You make some good points, but I'd like to point out that commenting on NYT articles is indeed "using social media."
3
Perhaps technically but not by common understanding. Social media has business value, but you would not be able to sell this comment forum in a public offering. There is no viral component because we must pay to use rather than being the product ourselves as with social media. It lacks all the social features of social media, and would be failed substitute for any of the popular offerings. It's just an electronic letter to the editor.
Very interesting. It's always been upsetting to me to realize that only about half of our population bothers to vote at all, and this has been going on for DECADES, not just now. Voting is supposedly a sacred thing in the U.S., but actions speak louder than words. I must be weird, because I've never missed voting in any election, whether it was done in a voting booth or (as we now have in Oregon) voting by mail (highly recommended on dark rainy nights in November).
Trolls, gerrymandering and other blocks to voting are just making it that much more difficult for people to feel they have a stake in things. No doubt Mr. Hagerman sleeps better than the rest of us, but I hope he revises his priorities when future elections roll around. It does remind me of the kid who covers his ears and screams "LA LA LA LA LA LA LA" when someone's trying to communicate with him and he doesn't like what they're saying.
9
What this man is doing has occurred to me. It's cheaper than emigrating elsewhere. Garrison Keillor recommended tending one's garden. But we all bear a responsibility to younger Americans coming after us to fight the nativism and self-dealing criminality of a Trump presidency. We bear a responsibility to ourselves, younger Americans, and our global neighbors. I read somewhere, "Did you ever wonder how you would act in a time of great political and moral hazard? This is your test. What will you do?" For better or worse, we are a part of a society. We don't get to absolve ourselves of responsibility when things don't go the way we would like for them to. There are consequences for inaction as much as there are for wrongdoing. Silence is not a protest. It is permission.
14
I started to read this portrait of an Apathetic Man but stopped caring about him two or three paragraphs in...
7
Maybe you should have read on to see what he is doing to protect the wetlands.
Every day, I castigate myself for being a “news junkie”. Some days, I studiously avoid ANY news story that contains the word “Trump”. [Not easy, by the way...] When I DO watch TV, I keep the remote, with its precious ‘mute’ button near my right hand...in case I get ‘broadsided’ by an appearance of...well...you-know-who. Even ONE story about our so-called “President” can trash my day...unless it’s a story about how we might get him OUTTA THERE!
Still in all, I am put off by Mr. Hagerman.
Sure! He’s entitled to his eccentricities...but he strikes ME as a bloody bore! Nothing more.
2
It's odd to see all this criticism of a guy just taking time to unplug. Isn't that what we all should be doing from time to time? To be honest, my first thought when reading this was Henry David Thoreau. What sort of criticisms would be directed at him in our modern world? The good news for the gentleman in this article is that he won't ready any of this!
7
Thoreau, the moocher who never in his life traveled more than a couple miles from his house, except for the few forays in his writing, is plenty criticized.
1
And let's not forget that Thoreau's mother was burdened with his childish ways long after he reached the age of majority. Mommy did his laundry and cooked for him, too, whenever he trotted down the lane from the pond. These two share the same lack of consideration for others.
Thoreau was a moocher? That's a new one. "Walden" is a guide to living a simple yet profound life. His writings inspired Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. And by the way, Jesus Christ was said to have never traveled more than a few miles from the place of his birth either.
Dang. Good on him. He knows himself. He is working to live his own ethical life. The rest of us will curse and foam at the mouth as Trump destroys our world; this guy figured out how he can "do himself" while doing good. Bravo.
144
I agree. Restoring a lake is a fine alternative to reading and hearing corporately packaged news (yes, even in the NY Times, to which I have too long been addicted).
In the last six months or so, I have cut way back on listening to NPR News, which I find has become hopelessly commercial (with incessant "underwriting" ads), hopelessly superficial, and historically amnesiac in its news coverage. And I do not miss it a bit. As I did not miss network TV news for most of the last 30 years, after I stopped listening to it.
While I do still read the Times regularly, I sympathize with Mr. Hagerman, and may choose to move further in his direction.
Alexandr Solzhenitsyn said in 1978: "... ...people also have the right not to know, and it is a much more valuable one. The right not to have their divine souls stuffed with gossip, nonsense, vain talk. A person who works and leads a meaningful life does not need this excessive burdening flow of information."
29
Good for you, Mr. Hagerman. Of course you won't read about the readers' opinions if you don't read the Times, but I sort of envy you your ignorance.
As a digital Times' subscriber, on occasions when my computer has been down, I too have enjoyed to news-free peace.
I don't see it as depravation, but rather as a breath of fresh air. I think you may be on to something.
3
Meh. He's a Trump clone, can't ever admit a mistake. He was an obnoxious evil man during the Brawley fiasco. I cannot forgive his aggressive false accusations. He's an untrustworthy self-promoting lout.
One of the reasons I hate Trump is that he hurts people for the entertainment value. And this man is just encouraging that type of behavior.
I can’t tell if this is farce or not. If it’s not a farce, I hope he doesn’t vote. He’s a terrible citizen.
5
For all of you who yell 'privilege', know that this life is obtainable by you, the sole barrier being yourself and your mentality.
It helps if you're single and have no offspring.
6
I'd rather read about those that are good citizens, involved in their communities and trying to create a better world for us all. Trump is immoral, a bully, a liar, a serial-womanizer, a traitor, a serial bankrupter, with support from Republicans, evangelicals and right-wing media. Americans that believe in honor, respect, justice, equality, the common good, truth and love, have to speak up and help us fight this madness of greed in the White House. The President of the United States is a true 'fake'. We must 'know' that and work to restore our sense of humanity and decency here. No, do not hide.
5
I wish I could do this but I'm just too curious. Morbidly so.
4
Oh my god, how infuriating! Only a well-off, able-bodied, white man could do this -- and then on top of it, get a full page article about himself in the NYT. I don't begrudge anyone their efforts at self-care or news/media blackouts, in these awful times, but the idea that everyone should respect his blockade while he tinkers with art, swims, and sips lattes just smacks of hubris.
9
Only a well off and able bodied person could do this. What do gender and race matter?
2
What does this have to do with being white or male? Well-off and able-bodied make sense.
1
`He is as ignorant as a contemporary citizen could ever hope to be.'
Oh, the irony. His `blockade' has given him something in common with the man he's trying to avoid.
5
Not sure why the NYT assumes that this is a liberal fantasy. Consider that all of the activity and organization that this guy doesn't want to take part in are actually the liberal dream/goal if you will. Raise your hand if you're a liberal who'd rather live a know-nothing existence in rural Georgia.
2
My modest redoubt against Trumpism is to watch and re-watch "The West Wing." Heck. . .I can pretend, can't I?
81
This article does not seem finished. It just stopped without warning or sense.
3
Well, that's one hook to promote your artistic aspirations. Glad it got him an article in the Times. Well played. Although it's rather nauseating to watch someone bury their head in the sand because they have the financial cover and white male privilege to afford the luxury of ignorance.
408
An excellent example of self important /progressive who thinks the world resolves around him. Given the Times political views it makes sense it would seek out such egoistical, elite who has done what to make the world any better ...nothing but collect his stock options.
3
The most ignorant man in America has spent a third of his time as President of the United States on vacation at his resorts including 100 days and counting playing golf. No man has access to more information that he ignores than Donald Trump.
7
Precisely, Blackmamba. We would all be better off if Trump renounced the world.
Talk about a quitter.
2
"Profiles in Cowardice", the NYTs award winning series about people who choose to bury their heads deep in the sand while our democracy depends on participation. The ultimate in self centered profile pieces.
9
He's hardly the most ignorant man in America. That award has to go to the many who receive their input from the Fox bubble. Filling one's head with false information produces an ignorance much more profound than simply avoiding input.
8
Not only is his life boring, this story was putting me out...
2
Escapism and false prophets can destroy a nation. It is a shame that Hagerman merely indulges his fantasies. While he can afford to do that, most liberals can't and prefer others to do so.
1
Maybe he knows more than you, and you fear that knowledge?
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/apr/12/news-is-bad-rolf-dobelli
~
No, I fear his total self-centeredness and the destruction that will bring. His unwillingness to help his country is disgusting and horrible. He deserves a horrible end.
1
In Nazi Germany, artists who turned inward and remained in Germany engaged what was called "inner emigration."
History has not cast a kindly eye.
That comparison aside, I would say this guy is engaged in some kind of performance piece stunt and the Times is advertising it.
5
the state of mainstream media in this country today - broadcast, social, cable, tv, print, you name it - is such jibbering garbage. Poisonous. Nonstop and spreading. Viva la blockade!
2
A day in the life of white privilege. It must be nice.
412
Try looking at lists of CEOs in USA and around the world and you might recognize that there are a huge number of black and brown and ivory millionaires, and a substantial number of black brown and ivory billionaires.
Since wealth conveys privilege, you might want to expand your vision of the world.
http://www.businessinsider.com/worlds-richest-black-billionaires-forbes-...
12
A person that worked hard (too hard in his own estimation) to have now peace of mind. If you relate his privilege to the fact he could have an education and also have a career, and that he is more likely to have those as a white male than any other demographic combination, non-white, female etc, than you can say privilege. But if privilege means unearned, than this is not true. I know many Blacks who have a more prosperous lifestyle than me, earned either by them or their direct relatives. I also know, most Blacks have it worse than me. And most Blacks have it much worse than most whites.
My point. Statistics give us a picture of the whole situation and where we are at as a society. Individual stories do not. This man has earned his way.
20
There are over 2000 billionaires in the world. How many of them aren't white or of European descent or were from well off families that spent time being educated in the West at schools of privilege?
I hope Don DeLillo is reading this.
2
Fascinating article, but it also leaves me almost speechless. Mr. Hagerman is a child, as children don't have to worry about the larger world around them and can leave the adults to do the heavy lifting. If everyone did this, eventually all of us would be living in a barren wasteland, the earth completely destroyed by those who want to extract every last penny from it.
He thinks creating some grandiose....whatever it is.....in the middle of nowhere makes up for this? Isn't it pretty to think so.
237
Well then not everyone would be doing it and of course it wouldn’t work. Good apples will forever have to spoil thanks to rotten ones. The earth rotated on its axis long before we arrived.
10
Mr. Dolnick left out something crucial from his story: how he discovered Hagerman. If Hagerman contacted the Times, or had someone do so, it would add a nuance to how out of the loop he really is. But Dolnick should have included the information to be thorough (Thoreau?).
1
After nearly 40 years of sensory overload and the 24/7 news cycle, a lot of us are exhausted and even gone a bit batty. Maybe Mr. H will be part of a new wave of re-settlers into rural parts of our country. If all this artist accomplishes for the world is one less miserable person, that's more than some people manage to do.
4
But ignorance is the basis of Trump's politics.
4
Anyone is welcome to become unplugged. Most republicans think the planet is 6,000 years old and deny the climate is changing. Wilful ignorance has consequences.
6
As his sister says, his ability to do this is a privilege. Women, people of color, immigrants, do not have this privilege. We see the country we love being destroyed by the racism, sexism, misogyny, lying, lack of ethics, rolling back of regulations, the incompetence of this administration, and must do something to preserve the Republic. If everyone acted like Mr. Hagerman, Trump and his ilk would destroy the country. It is exhausting to continue fighting, but many of us must continue until this national nightmare is over.
542
Why is it you feel a woman or person of color couldn't do exactly what Mr. Hagerman has? How do you know Mr. Hagerman isn't an immigrant himself? I understand the term white privilege, but this is not the situation to use it.
17
Women, people of color, and immigrants have become millionaires and billionaires in the USA.
Women and people of color are on the lists of the wealthiest people in the world. You might be surprised to know that the 7th wealthiest person in the world is Mexican; that there are a substantial number of Asian billionaires; that there are a number of African-Americans on the list; and that there are a number of Africans on the list of the wealthiest people in the world.
Sadly, the wealthiest African woman on the list may have become a billionaire by the shrewd use of aid from the USA and other countries, as her father has been president since 1979.
The average resident of Angola lives on $2 per day. "It is not possible to justify this wealth, which is shamelessly displayed," former Angolan prime minister Marcolino Moco tells FORBES. "There is no doubt that it was the father who generated such a fortune."
https://www.forbes.com/sites/kerryadolan/2013/08/14/how-isabel-dos-santo...
9
In an earlier comment I said that Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is being exercised, here. Hagerman is excersing it out in a way that he can. Everyone else can implement Maslow as well, albeit differently. If it were up to me I'd cancel our cable service and, possibly, my NYT subscription. I'd spend more time in my church's adoration chapel. Music would play on the radio as much as possible. The point is that I can carve out as large a portion of 'self actualization' as I want by doing a few simple things.
10
This man strikes me as being no less foolish than any of the very many people who over the years have berated me about one minor political point or another. In a world where politics has descended into emotional turmoil, snap judgment has become the order of the day. So who is anyone to judge this man?
88
I'll judge him. There's so much he could be doing to change what he doesn't like about our current situation, but instead he's burying his head in the sand. How is it admirable to leave the hard work to other people?
6
Wish I had done that...
Robinson Crusoe.
How unfortunate, for the rest of us, that we don't share this guy's privilege to deny and detach from reality.
Yep... that was indeed sarcasm.
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