I remember as a kid in grammar school when current events was a big topic for us. Sister Margaret always started our eighth grade day off with a discussion of Viet Nam and Madame Nhu, the Dragon Lady. It seemed that to be a good citizen of America you had to know about current events. Today, of course, the reverse is true.

Although last year I swore off the polarizing networks of Fox News and MSNBC, the presidential election cycle drew me back like the train wreck it really was. Unfortunately, I have not been able to let go and continue to drop in every night, even if it’s for only a few minutes per channel. However, I do have a way of mitigating the effects of this inability to look away.

Homeland on Showtime is the perfect alternative to the news.

I am a late comer to the series but have been catching up. I am not in the current season as yet so don’t spoil it for me.

The comfort I get from watching CIA operatives kill people in foreign countries is that it makes our own country look so much better.  Whereas the news channels here go out of their way to highlight the internal terror of American life; cop shootings, parents killing kids, and the general hatred people have for each other, Homeland focuses on problems we never experience.

It’s like going on Space Mountain. You get the same thrill and angst as you do watching the news but Homeland lets you get off at the end and switch to The Big Bang Theory.

You might think I advocate burying your head in the sand as opposed to remaining a informed citizen but I just moved to Florida. I have no intention of burying my head in the sand, but I am resolved to get my  butt as close to the sand as possible .