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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