On Super Bowl Sunday this year, I was live texting my take on the Puppy Bowl to a couple of old college pals, as any red-blooded American man does.

With genuine interest, I surveyed my friends to find out which ones were “Team Ruff” and which were “Team Fluff.” One of my angrier friends replied, “whichever team supports my right to bear arms under the second amendment.”

When politics has reached the Puppy Bowl, nothing is safe. Our culture is suffering from a steady encroachment of politics into every aspect of our lives.

Even the mobility of the poultry I eat is now fodder for political discussion. Relax dude, we’re at Subway, this meat probably doesn’t even come from a chicken.

Politics even made an appearance in my life on the most sacred day of my year: Wrestlemania Sunday. I had the honor of attending Wrestlemania this year but was annoyed when a man nearby shouted (presumably at someone) “we stand for the American flag” during a patriotic opening.

The song was “America the Beautiful,” not the National Anthem. Either way, chill. Aggression has no place at Wrestlemania.

Many people I know (on all sides of the political spectrum) view everything through a political lens and consume political news with the intensity of children playing Hungry Hungry Hippos. They frantically devour a stream of ever-more-urgent news updates looking for tidbits that reinforce their worldview.

They mine Twitter for memes to share instead of treating it as the aggregated collection of bathroom graffiti that it is. At some point, they came to think of being up-to-the-minute on political news as a personal virtue. It isn’t.

We elect (and pay) public officials specifically so that we don’t have to get involved with the day-to-day problems. Congressman, like septic tank cleaners, should only be thought of every few years.

It’s the difference between performing jury duty when you’re called upon to do so and showing up when it’s not your turn just to cheer on the process.

There is a time and place for everything. And for politics, that time is election season, which should have a considerable buffer on either end of it.

The current 24/7 obsession with politics reminds me of the “that’s what she said” joke obsession that was popular during my adolescence.

For the Snapchat generation, “that’s what she said” jokes were poor attempts at sexual innuendo where innocuous comments are made dirty by adding the words “that’s what she said” afterward.

The fictional “she” was always quite bold with her promiscuity. A common example would be someone innocently saying that a teacher “came down hard on a student” who was misbehaving in class.

The second person then adds, “that’s what she said,” providing everyone with a laugh at the imaginary girl’s expense and forcing the teacher to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

Saying “that’s what she said” was hilarious at first because everything was in play, which is fair because, at the age of fifteen, everything’s also in play as a potential mate.

But the jokes quickly proved tiring because of their complete lack of creativity and wit. Much like relating everything back to politics has become tiring in 2019.

It is important to stay informed and engaged with what’s happening in the world, but not at the expense of enjoying life.

I worry that the lack of a political offseason is causing us to lose our bearings.

There are two more summers between now and the next federal election. Don’t allow the intensity of interest in politics to cause you to miss them. Politics can be a worthwhile endeavor, but it’s far too grueling when it’s constantly shoved in your face.

That’s what she said.

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