Or Why Nomadistan Had To Die

You know most of this if you watched the video from a few days ago, but now I come back to you with even more information and agnst! LOL!

So earlier this year I started writing The Nomadistan Peoples News. Long articles meant to show the absurdity of the current state of not just politics, but the actual citizens of the world. For we have fallen into a very deep hole morality-wise and I wanted to use heavy satire to try and wake us all up a bit and face our collective problems.

Ahhh … and it was great. I really enjoyed creating that nation, its values, all of it. I still do, but … then one day I decided to turn it all into a YouTube channel. I thought it could do double duty … help promote humanity and also make me a buck so I could eat more than ramen most nights.

Long story short (ish) is that it failed. I’ve already spoken to you as to why but … I’ve come to an even deeper conclusion as to my ‘why’. And I need to share that as well.

Production was just too hard on the YouTube channel. I was essentially trying to recreate my own version of The Daily Show, all by myself, just about every day. On the night of my realization, I was 10 hours in and still nowhere close to a finished show. It was just not sustainable. I was unhappy and heading for another burn out. And so I got a little tipsy (ok, maybe more than a little) and decided to reshape my life.

Skipping past all of the details you already know, I was suddenly sleeping better and feeling really good about my decision to consolidate down into one YouTube channel.

Until this morning.
I still feel good, but now with 52% more understanding!

Every day since I started Nomadistan, I wake up and do three things: I pee, I make a big ole cup of Cuban coffee, and I start going through the online news sites. Seeing what’s happening in the world and what’s ripe for satire. Only today I was disgusted. Not by the content (even though I was) but my choice of putting myself through that.

And that’s where the epiphany came in.

Nomadistan was originally meant to address big pictures. Topics that weren’t necessarily newsworthy in themselves … like universal healthcare, human needs, war, education, and the like. It was not to be about whatever Donald J. Trump had lied about that day. And that was an unseen part of my burn out … having to research and study all of that extra nonsense, just for a show.

And yet here I was, long after deciding to stop chasing the BS, doing it voluntarily for fun?

The mainstream media is no longer there to Walter Cronkite us all into blissful knowledge, but to simply make a buck. Lots of bucks. The more sensational the story, the more eyeballs see the ads alongside the articles.

And that’s one of the core broken legs of our collective chair.

I realized this morning that in order to make the video version of Nomadistan successful, I had to put away the innuendo. In the articles I call the United States the nation of Supremeistan, because it sounds satirical and yet still on point. But in the show on YouTube, no one knew what Supremeistan was, so I had to be more literal with every name, place, or thought. Satire doesn’t play all that well on camera, it seems.

And so I think, besides the tremendous time suck the project was taking, this was the death nail in the coffin. My sense of existing in a sane world was crumbling, and I was doing it to myself.

I don’t argue politics on Facebook. In fact, I don’t even do social media anymore because it’s anything but social. It’s just silos of folks yelling into the voids, a stream of opinions that will make no difference except to the screamer.

So yea, validation this morning. I fixed both a time suck and daily absorption of “news” meant to bring me back for more unhappiness.

Now, am I going to keep writing about Nomadistan and larger issues facing we poor humans over on Substack and Medium? Yepper, I am. Because there I can make a small difference without selling my soul. Without chasing trending sound bites of opportunity (which was the exact opposite of what I intended to do). I enjoy creating the Nomadistani side of things.

But making my own Daily Show? Nope, can’t do that. Not every project has to turn into a monetized video stream. People do read still, after all.

And just a quick aside, if you’re a free tier member … (no pressure!) … but maybe consider upgrading your life and mine? The Little Kahuna tier awaits you! Same great content, just for a few pennies more. It’s The American Way! 🙂