Politixiation

I've been apolitical for most of my life. From the first moment I learned anything at all about politics, I knew I would hate it. For some reason, telling people what they wanted to hear, as opposed to telling them how things really are, just never appealed to me. I liken politics to a cup of tainted water. Some people saw the taint and avoided it (like me). Some people drank knowing it was tainted. They're the ones who are politically active, yet complain vehemently about the political system. And finally, there are those who drink up wholeheartedly, not knowing or caring about the taint. They are so into the games, the intrigue, and the manipulation of perception that I wonder if they realize how warped their views of reality are. Perhaps I'm being melodramatic.

I've increased my political activity in recent years, but I can't say that I've been the happier for it. I'm strongly democratic because their central underlying philosophy is to support the middle and lower class at the expense of the upper class (and I'm definitely not upper class). I learned this all from studying history and government in high school and college. The respective policies reflect that fact; with Republicans in favor of lower flat taxes (heavily benefits the rich), less social services (detrimental to the poor, doesn't effect the rich), etc.; and Democrats pro-evironment anti-business (detrimental to the rich), higher progressive taxes (heavily detrimental to the rich), more social services (beneficial to the poor, doesn't effect the rich), etc.

But it's not that simple. Politics is more about ideologies and perception. Abortion, gun control, minority rights, gay marriage, capital punishment, etc. These issues are not class related, but they are integral to politics. And don't forget how important perception is. Take the presidential election. I will say this, the best candidate did not necessarily win; but I'm positive the person who did win was the person who was portrayed better. The Republicans did an excellent job in portraying Kerry as a shmuck and Bush as basically decent, if a little flawed. This sounds all well and good, but the fact is 95% of what was said was simply propaganda. The truth is out there, sure, but rarely is it revealed. The Kerry side tried to stick to logic, but they did not play 'the game' well enough, so they lost.

For those who exclaimed, "Apocalypse!" when Bush won, remember, the warning signs were there. Two years ago, the Republicans firmly took control of Congress making it the first time in, something like 30 years, that one party took control of the Presidency and Congress. An ominous sign for Democrats for sure, and perhaps representative of the current sentiment of the American people.

But America is a weird place. I remember a long time ago, I read about how many european nations were building roads with these concrete-based mixtures that were a little more expensive than asphalt, but lasted far longer. So I asked my dad, "How come we don't do this here in America? Building with more advanced concrete would save tons of money in the long run, as opposed to asphalt. It would be nice if roads weren't always being repaired because they wear out so fast."

"If we did that, after we built all these roads that don't wear out, there wouldn't be jobs left for a lot of road workers. Fewer roads would need repair at one time, so fewer workers would be needed. So it's political."

That may be true, but how come europeans can do it? In the long run, the jobs would reappear, just at a higher skill level. America seems to be afflicted with a kind of short-sightedness.

Then there's NASCAR. The cars are not the fastest, and nobody ever takes a right turn. Yet it is the most popular racing sport in America. Mystifiying. If you're wondering what's the most popular racing sport in the world is, it's Formula 1. It's the fastest cars making left and right turns, including the occasional hairpin turns. The tracks are much more difficult to race. At least this makes some sense to me.

Sorry for this rant. You probably won't hear another political post from me for a long time. I don't like politics, and I don't like the effect it can have on people. But it's nice to express where I stand on the issue. I will do my part to stay politically involved, but you probably won't hear much fanfare about it from me.