Why Does Politics Matter to You?

I've read through some of these forums and I'm wondering why so many get so hot and bothered about what's going on in our government? Can you dig deep and come up with a basis for your passion? Many people get so consumed with what's going on, they miss what's happening right in their own living room. Does talking about it or debating it make a difference or is it some deep-seated fear? Just wondering (and hoping for honest, respectful answers from the posters here at PL.)

 

I don't get "hot and bothered" so much talking about governmental issues. What I get upset about is being called a bunch of names (furnished upon request) by someone espousing provable and demonstrable lies because I don't believe their lies or someone purposely misreading what I have said just to propagate an argument.

 

Politics is the process by which people organize themselves and make collective decisions. If we live in groups we have politics. And we are group-centered beings. Therefore politics are important.

 

People are scared. Right now they are terrified. They feel they do not have control over their lives. The economy stinks, they could lose their job at any time. The government can't settle on anything. Arguing political points, as abstract as they are, is the best way for people to feel like they control something. They own their opinions, they own their beliefs, and no one can take that away from them.

 

Largely, I get "hot and bothered" with issues relating to foreign policy. I just don't think it's morally right to run around killing people for what always turn out to be totally spurious reasons.

 

It sounds like you believe that Obama should not have invaded Libya. Am I correct in that presumption?

 

Well let's see here. Politics have an influence on our daily lives. Just like the price of gas or groceries does. These things can be influenced by politics.

 

I'm just the opposite of forest_time. I think that its more important to concern ourselves with domestic policies right now because we are simply so screwed up in this country right now. I understand that we're supposed to be part of the global economy, but a little isolationism wouldn't hurt right now as we sort out our own economy and our own policies. Which, I suppose, would be a way for forest_time's concerns to be alleviated. Works all the way around, I guess.

 

Because "they" are "wrong" and fail to understand why...

Personally I think our system has become too corrupt, and that angers me. The Congress essentially accepts bribes from lobbyists and governs themselves (no checks or balances to their power). I'm not a fan of our Judicial system either. Appointed for life is a concept I can't agree with.

 

Politics don't matter, only God does.

 

What's important are elections, "politics" just fills the time between the elections.
In 2008 we had a lot of first-time, uninformed voters & looked what happened.

 

The Politics of God, if you have not read this essay yet then you might find it interesting

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/19/magazine/19Religion-t.html

 

Anybody who has read my posts knows that I hate Obama but honestly I think McCain would have been worse. But I did vote for McCain myself with the thought that maybe Palin could spent the first two years learning how things work in the world and the next two as President. Horrible thought in a way but that was the reasoning.

Politcs is the life blood of a democracy with education being its brain and morals its soul. Right now we have bad blood, a brain that is out of order and morals are out the window

 

In 2010 we have damn few voters and look what happened.

 

Are you trying to say that the Democrats were disinchanted with Obama and decided not to vote? And just why would they be more inclined to vote this time?

 

The folks on the right feel that the gubment is cuttin' in on their action.

 

Exactly! And in 2012 we just need to build on that progress.

 

I want what's best for America & don't like the way things are going.

 

I think this just might be something we can actually all agree on.

 

This is the grand delusion in which we in the supposedly democratic countries live. We've been living with this magnificent concept called "Free Speech" and "Freedom of Thought." And America is probably the only country in the world where you can say just about anything you please without getting arrested the next day. So we happily express our opinion, and feel that we are in control of the situation.

I say all this in the light of the situation as it used to be, for example, in Tanzania when it was still a one-party, socialist country. At the time we used to look in envy at the Western world for it's freedom of opinion and speech. In Tanzania we were too scared to even mention the name of the president, for fear of being thrown in jail.

Yet, really speaking, we were freer because we knew who, and what the enemy was. We refused to accept any sort of propaganda fed out to us. You may say we were skeptical through and through.

You'll wonder how that can be better than what we have here. Well, we are as ineffective here as we were there. The only advantage here is that we can express our thoughts freely. But we fail to realize that we're being given freedom of speech on the one hand, and we're losing our freedom of thinking on the other hand.

The reason for this is that we're lulled by a false sense of security; a false confidence that we have any effect on what's going on. And we become too trusting of all the disinformation that is fed to us. The government is getting away with as much, if not more, here as it does in non-democratic countries.

"Arguing political points," as JohnCostas says, "is the best way for people to feel like they control something." They only feel like they control something. In effect they're dissipating their energy, and in the end nothing has been achieved except our satisfaction at having vented our frustrations, as we're doing right now.