Not knowing politics

[sausagehead]

I’m 26 and have no interest or knowledge in politics whatsoever. From my point of view it’s incredibly uninteresting and wouldn’t be beneficial to my life or anyone else’s if started to become more competent in the subject. I realize my outlook could be flawed and would like to know if this is a problem that should be addressed. A few years ago I studied the difference between a democrat, republican, liberal and conservative just to feel like I knew at least something but I did it from a place of insecurity and now I can’t even remember what the differences were exactly. 

What do you do in this situation? Learn the basics just to satisfy my ego or allow myself to be totally ignorant in politics and only focus on things that will actually make me happy? I don’t want to be stupid but I also don’t want to be distracted by anything irrelevant to mine or anyone else’s wellbeing. Maybe learning the basics of politics will improve my sense of self and actually allow me to be happier? 

It seems like everyone would feel this way about politics lol what does it matter if I know what Trumps doing or saying, now I can be another person with opinions that are biased and lack context?

Edited May 24, 2019 by sausagehead
There were many edits muahaha? (weird place to put an emoji)?

[Leo Gura]

Then when the government goes to hell, don't be surprised and don't complain. Cause that's what such irresponsibility creates.

See, the problem here is, you take good government for granted. If you spent a year in Iraq you'd really be able to appreciate the importance of good government.

[Truth Addict]

I think you should follow the things that are most relevant to your life.

If politics knowledge doesn't affect your life directly, then a very basic understanding suffices, I think.

But when it's election time, you will have to do some serious research.

Edited May 25, 2019 by Truth Addict

[Inliytened1]

@sausagehead as you grow and become more conscious, you will start caring more about these things.

When i was your age all i cared about was getting drunk and getting some ass.

For some of us it takes time.  But when your mind opens you will become a sponge and want to absorb everything around you.

 

[Moreira]

keep yourself away from politics and youll have a blissful existance.

Politic trends,right and left are just a tool of the true gobernment elites to divide population, keep them enternatined, but in the end righ and left are two hands of the same head, a oligarchy that plays to be god.

Choosing one side and deffending it will bring you suffering.

Edited May 25, 2019 by Moreira

[AnTe]

it's not so much about learning politics unless you're planning a career in it but learning how things and people actually work so you can know where you stand. meaning, are you willingly or unwillingly contributing because I sure assure you were all contributing in one way or another even if we're not actually doing anything consciously. we have to be aware of all aspects of our lives which means personal and collective to be able to consciously live and make the choices that are aligned with our path/experience. 

[Norbert Lennartz]

There can't be such a thing as good government. This is the case for anatomical reasons. This knowledge is extremely important to be able to grasp political events. See: https://mises.org/library/anatomy-state  

A government is always more or less more a cause of problems, a troublemaker. Investors, for example, call this "political risk" because an investment in a country can fail simply because of unpredictable nonsense in the country's regulations.

[Shadowraix]

If you don't learn about politics you'll just contribute to it unknowingly. Are you ok with not knowing if your actions are helping or harming the current climate? 

[Dan502]

Hi Sausagehead

(I'm not name-calling, that's his name :))

Should you take interest in something you're not interested in just because you feel like you should? Hmm...

I don't know.

1) Maybe you could make a pros and cons list of why you should vote or not vote and then see which side is more meaningful to you.

2) Or, if a part of you feels like you should take an interest in politics but you don't feel like voting or reading newspapers and such, you could try to find something that does interest you and then see how that thing is regulated or what policies exist around it. Say you're into skateboarding. There are bound to be laws that affect where you can or can't skate, laws that create environments suitable for skating and safety requirements for manufacturing etc.

3) Also, you don't have to throw yourself into national politics. Maybe start by taking an interest in your town.

4) Or speak to people who have personalities that resonate with you and find out what kinds of parties they support. Political preferences are sometimes driven by personality. If you find out what most of your friends' or colleagues' views are (and some are bound to have some strong ones) it might seem a bit more interesting.

I'm being a bit simplistic here but am trying to share the perspectives more than anything. I get the feeling that you posted the question because a part of you does feel like you should take some kind of interest in some kind of politics but you're not sure exactly how.

So what I'm trying to do above is to be open-minded about what form that interest could potentially start to take. There will be way, way more options than the four that I've suggested but I just wanted to get the ball rolling.

Also take your time with this thought. Politics is huge and actually affects many other things. You don't need to become interested in all of politics over night, you could just stay aware that it's an option and if over the coming weeks or months, you see an article about something political or a book about another subject but which has some politics in it, that does interest you, you could take a look at it.

I could be wrong, of course and I'm not suggesting that I necessarily think you should or should not try to get interested in politics if it's just not your thing. It could equally be that you need to find a way of becoming more comfortable with not being interested in politics. Without completely knowing you (or myself, or politics, or life :)), it's hard to tell.

Edited May 25, 2019 by Dan502

[ivory]

20 hours ago, Inliytened1 said:

@sausagehead as you grow and become more conscious, you will start caring more about these things.

When i was your age all i cared about was getting drunk and getting some ass.

For some of us it takes time.  But when your mind opens you will become a sponge and want to absorb everything around you.

+1. This ^^

 

I used to have zero interest in politics. But after a series of really shitty life experiences I became deeply aware of how sick society was and I developed in interest in the system as a whole. If you you want to dip your toes in the water stay in tune with the highlights. The more you learn, the more interested you become. Also, as you approach stage green in spiral dynamics your heart opens up and you begin care about society. Part of my morning routine is to check the news and see what's going on. This is a really good start if you're interested: https://theweek.com/5things. It just lists 5 new things that are happening each day.

Edited May 25, 2019 by ivory

[Emerald]

It's a really foolish decision to close your eyes to what's going on in politics. And likewise, it's very foolish not to be involved. 

The corruption that happens in the political sphere is largely dependent on having a populace that's too distracted and too uneducated about politics to know that the system is rigged against the average person and in favor of the mega-wealthy and big corporations that essentially buy the government and the media and always get what they want.

So, by being politically lazy and unengaged, it perpetuates this cycle because you're comfortable enough with the status quo... until it's you on the chopping block.

• You will certainly care about politics if you or a loved one are diagnosed with a disease that requires you to pay thousands of dollars a month just to stay alive. People who need Insulin right now, don't get he privilege to be apolitical. (Also, 10s of thousands of Americans die from not being able to afford healthcare every year. Like, "Hmm... I am having a pain in my left arm that might be a warning sign for a heart attack... but I don't want to go bankrupt for a false alarm... So, I'll just wait a while and see what happens.")
• You will certainly care about politics if you're a woman from Georgia who just had a miscarriage who has to worry about being investigated and sent to prison for 30 years because there was a suspicion that she might be responsible for the miscarriage.
• You will certainly care about politics if you're a civilian that lives in a country that America has staged a regime change war in.
• You will certainly care about politics if the economy tanks and you lose everything because greedy banks have caused another housing bubble. Meanwhile it's corporate socialism and big bailouts in the trillions for them, but for the average person it's "Oh well." That is, if you're aware enough to even know you got fucked and that it wasn't just an unlucky break.
• You will certainly wish you'd had the forsight to care about politics when climate change's effects makes the area you live in unlivable causing mass migrations and food shortages.

The point I'm stressing here is that you think politics is some abstract game that you can either play or don't play. The fact of the matter is that you are playing, and there are stakes. You can lose everything because of political decisions being made. 

And the more people who take your attitude on politics, the more likely their perspective is to be overlooked and not played to. So, your concerns as an average person will get trampled on by big pharma, the military industrial complex, the billionaire class, wallstreet, and other moneyed interests.

But if we actually pay attention and register how unfairly we're all being treated and fight against it with the natural and justified anger that comes with that awareness, then we have a lot of power. There is power in numbers, and we can see our influence on things reflected much more clearly now with the grassroots nature of internet culture. But only if we're educated and engaged.

To say, "I'm not really into politics." is to wear a big target on your ass and bend over and make it as easy as possible to be screwed.

 

[ivory]

@Emerald Nice

[RichardY]

 Let a hundred flowers bloom, let a hundred schools of thought contend.

[CreamCat]

Practically speaking, it's beneficial to track the general political trend. Just reading big news headlines from time to time should be enough. Add a news portal to your bookmark bar. If there are big political issues that might hurt you, you want to know them long before they hurt you.

There is a big difference between not knowing politics at all and knowing the general political trends by investing a minute or two every couple days. If you don't have a minute or two every two days, you should reconsider your life choices. Think of it as a cheap insurance.

Similarly, there is a big difference between not having a smartphone and having it just for occasional phone calls.

If you are an investor, tracking political trend definitely helps.

Edited May 26, 2019 by CreamCat

[Leo Gura]

@Norbert Lennartz Be here to learn,  not to promote your stage Orange libertarian positions.

[CreamCat]

35 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

@Norbert Lennartz Be here to learn,  not to promote your stage Orange libertarian positions.

In my mind, many forum users are trying to promote certain political views. Some are quite annoying and pushy at doing so. Nobert is at least not pushy.

[Rilles]

4 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

@Norbert Lennartz Be here to learn,  not to promote your stage Orange libertarian positions.

Too much Stefan Molyneux

[Norbert Lennartz]

My postings are all meant to be integrative. Not demanding for or against something like "good government", which from my point of view is a utopia, a faith of level "blue" that was taken over to level "yellow". That's why no one argues about it in the matter. You think, "Don't destroy my faith in my good government. I need it. I can't live without it. You have to accept that. The state is right to integrate you, because it knows better than you what is good for you".
And yet you know very well that this is anything but love. You know it! You nail Jesus to the cross. Again and again.

[Norbert Lennartz]

@Shiva

Why is that "negative"? That is your rating. Your pathetic ego, isn't it?

You think I'm an ungrateful outsider who should be expelled to Somalia. What a hateful nature it is!
Not only hatred. Where there is hatred, then arrogance and stupidity join.

The "good governance" we have comes from the offices of companies and private individuals serving the unhampered market. Today's prosperity comes from technological progress, not because of government, but despite government. My grand parents were two times in world war because of "good government". The historical rise of the state can be explained by the fact that there is more to skim off than before.

[kieranperez]

4 hours ago, Norbert Lennartz said:

And yet you know very well that this is anything but love. You know it! You nail Jesus to the cross. Again and again.

Everything that has ever happened in the world is an expression of God’s Love for the present creation. Anything that comes into being fundamentally comes from Love. 

The only reason you can even rant against government without being killed and slaughtered like you would 1000 years ago for ranting against the state is becaue the current creation of God that is modern government gives you that luxury.