Politics suck

I have become disgusted with politics mostly because I can’t appreciate it as a spectator any longer. In trying to pay attention and get the whole story, it’s impossible to whittle down everything and get to the truth. The media’s sensationalism, the chosen stories reported, the quotes and all the meaningless banter has an enormous negative effect. I posted a few entries about politics this past year. And I’m disappointed by it. I’m disappointed that I got so involved in many ways. I’m disappointed in the way things have turned out. People aren’t listening. People are telling lies. People are seeing candidates through the lens of a background of mis-information. People follow words instead of facts. They get caught up in sentences and have no grounding in the constitution. Below are some points to be taken as my farewell to the day-to-day following. I consider much of this past year a complete waste of time.

1. We all have to be good helpful individuals, and make the best moral decisions we can based on the information we have. There’s no reason to give any extra weight to claims that have no evidence. There’s no reason to think that what has always been done is right. There’s no reason to assume you have any moral high ground based on the past. There is only now, there is only what you do to help others.
2. You may think that there is a vast conspiracy. And you might be right. But you probably are mostly wrong. Don’t trust or put faith in the political system. But also don’t think that you are alone in trying to create balance. Don’t feed more unverified claims into the mix. Strive for accuracy and truth above all else, no matter if you have a large following or not. Why? Because it’s the right thing to do. All it takes is one mistake or false claim and many of your actual truths can be disregarded. Don’t take the risk.
3. Turn off the television and ignore nearly everything related to politics. Focus on issues wherever possible and find your path to make a difference through initiatives. A phone call is better than nothing. Raise awareness in ways that you are capable. Don’t let conversations run into the ground. You probably won’t change people, and perpetuated divisiveness is the likely outcome both of reading drivel and pundits.
4. Don’t let others create divisions or try to separate people. Don’t let them make others out to be bad people, different or somehow less than valuable. They aren’t doing it for your benefit. They don’t know the entire truth. They are weak and their thinking is corrupt. Their minds are dark.
5. When you look at the world, your neighborhood, people on TV and you get angry, you are tired of people making messes, of trashing what used to be great, and you wish that things could be better. You are the only one that can actually affect that. By picking up a small amount of garbage, by having a conversation, by creating any kind of ripple, you are your answer and your solution. And you must do it often. And you will continue to be aggravated and you must relearn that you are the answer to the problem. If you ask yourself how somebody like you could make the change, you will get the answers that you can actually follow. A scary neighborhood is scary because you haven’t started the nightly walk organization, because you haven’t created a group that cares for good.
6. Meetings where people talk are fun. Politics works that way. Meetings are productive only in small ways. Ideas come from there, but meetings are not work. People don’t often collaborate at a meeting on actual work. They “plan” to carry out the work after the meeting. But the great ideas that come out of the meetings rarely can’t maintain their energy as they filter down through the budgeting, sub-committees and then to the real workers. Lawmakers and CEOs don’t know how to do the work. They are too used to having meetings and then having people do it for them. We need more working meetings.
7. The government’s money spent is your money. Repeat this and understand it. It’s constantly wasted everytime a frivolous initiative or lawsuit is carried out. Too many politician’s have a game where they take the issue of the day, act as though they have a huge vested interest in it and use it for notoriety, all the while taking your money to pay for promotion, lawyers, research etc. They no longer understand that it doesn’t belong to them. They are too used to spending any time they want. Real statistics and economics will reveal that the issue of the day is more likely an anomaly and should be gracefully ignored. Do your best to identify these sensationalized stories. Real important issues are buried because they are constant, continuous and boring. These are the ones that need attention and money.
8. Do more things for others. Because it’s good. When people are scary, get to know them. People don’t like to go to war with friends. People don’t like hurting people they know. War goes on because we haven’t done enough to create relationships.

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July 1, 2008 at 7:03 pm | general | No comment