Friday, September 14, 2012

A Bottle of Wine and Some Politics

We have a presidential election coming up soon. That's a no-brainer. As a former student of Politics, with a B.A. to prove it, I often feel like I'm not contributing much to the political discourse around me. I'm just not that interested in discussing who, if elected, will be the catalyst for Armageddon and why. I spent enough time studying the discipline of politics to know that my disgust for rhetoric is not a good enough reason to remove myself from the conversation completely. If I don't like rhetoric and ignorant opinions, I could always seek to educate others from a neutral perspective - perhaps teach a better definition of terms or take it upon myself to better illuminate the debate in creative ways for others.

Instead, I'm like, “Nah. Eff it.”

Why? Because despite knowing that my vote really DOES count and, ergo, the votes of others, my personal conviction is that it's none of my business to get into other people's business (which, just to get this out of the way, is also the root of my political dispositions). People want to make ignorant statements? I'd rather just keep quiet. People want to get agitated and fret over the political affiliations of their coworkers and neighbors? That's stress I'd rather not have, but to each his/her own. I quote him a lot, but my Dad has been known to say, “It's better to have your mouth shut and people think you a fool, than to open your mouth and confirm their suspicions.” This nugget of a proverb has started to roll around in my mind, finally replacing Call Me, Maybe (thank you, Jesus). And I'm sure that the closer we get to that fateful day in November, I'll think on it more and more frequently.

It's cool to have political opinions. More than cool - it's completely desirable. Voting is not just a symbolic nod to grand ideas such as Democracy and Freedom, it's a concrete expression of rights. A behavior with real consequences, too, so I'm happy when people respect it and take it seriously. So, possession of opinions = awesome. I would also agree that not just to possess, but also to communicate them to others is a right. But just like all rights we exercise, it's always good to double check that it's appropriate. I may own and discharge a firearm, for example. But even within the framwork of legal actions regarding firearms, there is a lot of area for personal discretion. Taking it down a notch, is it appropriate to try and get people to register to vote for X party in the workplace? At lunch time? It's certainly legal. But my sandwich-starved neanderthal brain either can't or doesn't want to handle that much at lunchtime. I would really have liked a half hour of peace and quiet instead of polarized squawking. Noooooot appropriate.

By the way, this is the part of the blog that you're like, “Ohhhh, someone interrupted her lunch and THAT'S why she's so up in arms about this. Yikes, what an idiot to get in between Lily and her sandwich.”

Unless you work on the campaign trail, for a PAC, for a college politics department, for whatever entity that entails a legitimate daily discussion of the election, just don't talk about it between 9 am and 5 pm. If you're passionate about it, set up a booth in front of the grocery store. It works well for the Girl Scouts. Or get it out of your system at a rally, an online forum, a blog (!), or the dinner table. You could also realize that no one cares more about your opinion than yourself (a good lesson for in between elections as well, albeit a hypocritical one for a blogger to give).

In general, ask yourself: Would I open up a bottle of wine and drink it here? In front of these people? This publicly? At this time of day?

If the answer is no, then you shouldn't be talking politics, either. It'll make you look just as dumb and isolated and people will pity your lack of self control.

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