Why should I care about politics?
This is the reason you should care about politics: self-interest.
I find it amazing that people who follow sports don't bother following politics. Yes, it's exciting to watch a sport being played, but at the end of the day, the only thing gained or lost is a bit of personal pride, when the team or athlete you follow wins or loses. But at its core, politics is all about three things: restricting what you are allowed to do, redirecting where money goes, and the way we deal with other countries.
Two of those things matter to just about everybody. The first, because nobody wants to have something they like to do, or might want to do, made illegal. You also probably don't want to have things you don't want others to do made legal. Politicians do both of those things when they write laws, so it's a good idea to keep an idea on what they're doing.
The second, because people tend to care about their cash. With a few strokes of a pen, politicians can reach into the paychecks of any working person, and pull out money. With other strokes, they can send that money wherever they want, or to whomever.
Neither of these things can be done by any sports star, or any Hollywood celebrity, or anyone at a recording label. They can entertain or disappoint you; politicians can destroy you.
They realize this. They don't get into power by being threatening, they get there by saying what they think you want to hear. They do this by keeping their statements simple and their laws complicated. You hear the simple stuff, then you look at the complicated laws, and decide just to trust them.
They know this. Both Republicans and Democrats do it. But in your life, if you encountered someone who always... ALWAYS... talked a good game, but you never got results, sooner or later you'd start to distrust them. You'd check out what they're actually doing, as opposed to what they're saying.
When enough people actually pay attention, though, they change their tune. That's the reason some things do get changed; the politicians hear enough anger, and get concerned about re-election. Because they always want to hang onto their power.
That's why you have to care. Because if you don't, these guys will just continue to do whatever they want to do, while controlling every part of your life. You wouldn't let your parents or your best friends do that; why would you let someone you've never met before do it?
I find it amazing that people who follow sports don't bother following politics. Yes, it's exciting to watch a sport being played, but at the end of the day, the only thing gained or lost is a bit of personal pride, when the team or athlete you follow wins or loses. But at its core, politics is all about three things: restricting what you are allowed to do, redirecting where money goes, and the way we deal with other countries.
Two of those things matter to just about everybody. The first, because nobody wants to have something they like to do, or might want to do, made illegal. You also probably don't want to have things you don't want others to do made legal. Politicians do both of those things when they write laws, so it's a good idea to keep an idea on what they're doing.
The second, because people tend to care about their cash. With a few strokes of a pen, politicians can reach into the paychecks of any working person, and pull out money. With other strokes, they can send that money wherever they want, or to whomever.
Neither of these things can be done by any sports star, or any Hollywood celebrity, or anyone at a recording label. They can entertain or disappoint you; politicians can destroy you.
They realize this. They don't get into power by being threatening, they get there by saying what they think you want to hear. They do this by keeping their statements simple and their laws complicated. You hear the simple stuff, then you look at the complicated laws, and decide just to trust them.
They know this. Both Republicans and Democrats do it. But in your life, if you encountered someone who always... ALWAYS... talked a good game, but you never got results, sooner or later you'd start to distrust them. You'd check out what they're actually doing, as opposed to what they're saying.
When enough people actually pay attention, though, they change their tune. That's the reason some things do get changed; the politicians hear enough anger, and get concerned about re-election. Because they always want to hang onto their power.
That's why you have to care. Because if you don't, these guys will just continue to do whatever they want to do, while controlling every part of your life. You wouldn't let your parents or your best friends do that; why would you let someone you've never met before do it?
posted by AM | 7:44 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home