As a bit of a counterpoint, I'd say focusing on world politics can make you less effective at effecting local change. The amount of anger in my Blue city to the Trump admin has made more of our attention focus on Palestine or ICE and less on traffic safety or local tax revenue. We can save lives right here, right now by focusing on traffic safety. But 100x more people show up to a Gaza rally than a DOT hearing on traffic safety.
Obviously completely throwing your head into the sand is deleterious, and understanding the national political climate is certainly an important part of things like applying for grant funding or understanding how to get Federal dollars to match State and Local dollars. But IMO the nationalization of politics is having a real effect on the effectiveness of local politics.
I understand your point and I would agree. Most likely there is no general right approach. One has to navigate based on skillset, personality, environment and so on. I see the problem only if all the "good" people withdraw, there are always some on the other side who will take advantage thereof.
Obviously completely throwing your head into the sand is deleterious, and understanding the national political climate is certainly an important part of things like applying for grant funding or understanding how to get Federal dollars to match State and Local dollars. But IMO the nationalization of politics is having a real effect on the effectiveness of local politics.