I will preface this with the following: you should go out and vote, no matter what hurdles prevent you from doing so.
I recently submitted my absentee ballot in the mail for Michigan’s Presidential Nominee for my designated party.
Despite this achievement, I can’t help but feel that it is all for naught. Politics is a bore for me, and my vote, at the end of the day, feels meaningless.
Here is my issue with politics: all politicians are fake. What exactly do I mean by that? Well, it’s complicated. Have you actually listened to debates, lectures, and speeches by these people? They are… different. It is like the world they live in is not the one you and I do. The way they talk, the things they say, the things they do are all carefully selected and crafted with the sole purpose of impacting you in a certain way. Do I think they believe what they’re saying? Most of the time, yes. Do I think that underneath it all, they actually care? Probably not.
You see, most politicians, especially the ones that are playing the big Presidential game, have a completely different lifestyle than you or me. They have jets, and fly first class, eat nice food, get ritzy hotels and all of that stuff. They probably don’t have to worry about paying rent, getting fired, or even showing up to work each day (see Marco Rubio). If the government shut down (and it has before) these goons probably have enough money in the bank to live comfortably until it gets resolved. Compare that to all of the folks who had to go without a paycheck during that same period and had to scrape by.
See what I mean? These candidates work so hard to make you like them, to convince you that they care. Maybe they do, but they really don’t have to.
My favorite thing in politics is watching a politician get asked a question they can’t answer without losing favor. Bernie Sanders has been asked tons of questions like this in regards to a changing position on sending soldiers to war a long time ago. He specifically won’t answer the question, but he’ll justify his stance in relation to something else he supports, and then end on a high note about what he believes in right now and what he knows you want him to say.
But all politicians do this. I haven’t met one who doesn’t. It is slimy, it is gross, it is inefficient, and it is wrong. When asked a question, answer honestly and directly. If it hurts people, too bad. That’s the price of honesty. It sickens me that they don’t grasp this – or that they do, but continue on anyway.
Regardless, I don’t like many politicians, so I don’t really feel like a winner if they are elected. I know who, if elected, will make me feel like a loser though. And with the way the government works, gerrymandering and electoral college scandal, etc. why should I bother voting? (I know, I know, because if I don’t, then I don’t have a right to complain about the state of the nation, etc.)
But frankly, going back to the Presidential election, this is not worth the hype. Yes, the President of the United States is a big title, and a powerful position, but not as powerful as the unified House of Representatives and the Senate. Those two bodies are huge in determining the shape of our country’s politics, bigger than the President’s, I’d say, yet I don’t hear about those elections nearly half as much.
You see, all of these people, the President, members of Congress, etc. they all have their own little political world that they live in, fueled by pseudologic, bribery, lies, and personal agendas.
If I had the power to change it all, I’d hit reset on everything and force all elected officials to give up material lifestyles for the sake of their office. “But Joe! What would entice them to work their job then?” Exactly. They would have to actually care about the United States of America, or the State or town that they are the main elected official for.
Alas, I don’t have the power to change these things, perhaps it is for the better.
Go out and vote, for what it’s worth. Just don’t be politically fervorous around me, I won’t like that all too much.
