#1. Why Politics Matter (Especially to Millennials...)
Politics? Who cares...plus Scandal is on after the football game. Plus, politicians are all bought and sold by campaign donors, controlled by lobbyists, and only care about serving themselves and their elitist friends. Our meager single vote doesn't make a difference anyway. So politics do not matter. Well, they sort of do, but there isn't a thing I can do about it.
I remember when this was my mindset. Luckily, I have a father who enjoys and appreciates paying attention to the political landscape. Through osmosis, perhaps, I ended up watching what was going on, and holy cow! You can't make this stuff up! Drugs, sex, death, money, and power - all things that catch our eye in movies and TV shows. The point is this: politics do matter. And it's actually extremely entertaining watching these guys sweat when you're aware of what's really going on. Furthermore, the importance of politics for the Millennial generation is even more pressing. We're either going to have to clean up this mess and continue to be the great world power that we are here in America, or we are going to have to run out of this burning building before we collapse from smoke inhalation. I like the former idea rather than the latter (I live in California, so...), but make no mistake about it; the house in on fire. Like, NOW. Smoke alarms are going off, the walls are warm to the touch, the stench of burning plastic is filling the air. We have to do something. And the first step in the process of extinguishing the fire, cleaning out all the debris, and rebuilding is to be aware of what caused this massive issue in the first place. Without paying attention to politics, we live our lives unaware of the state of the Nation, which may have detrimental effects to our daily lives, or may give us a sign of opportunity for the future. Either way, politics do matter.
Here at the Generation Who Blog, we don't use all the political jargon and the boorish language of the typical political pundits, because we aren't typical political pundits. In fact, we aren't political pundits at all. We are simple people watching what's going on in our nation, and we want to fix it. However, we think it truly is up to us young people to do the fixing. After all, we didn't dig this hole, we were raised in it. So a fresh viewpoint and fresh ideas for fixing the problems facing the nation is necessary. Many people of the older generations think we're a bunch of whiny, self-entitled, weak, sensitive, pot-smoking, good-for-nothing weenies who are essentially useless. We will artfully and forcefully dispel these and many more myths about us Millennials in a later post, along with in our first Podcast episode (www.GenerationWho.com or look us up at The Generation Who Podcast).
Back to the importance of politics...
History is key to understanding anything. It has a boring wrap, but many of these stories are captivating (see: Dionysian Mysteries or how Socrates was sentenced to death via charges from a fictitious play). After all, if you're on a first date with someone, you ask a bunch of questions about their history in order to form a fuller picture of them. If history does not matter, then neither does where your date lives, works, or even their criminal record! In Ancient Greece, voting was not only a right, but a duty, and not participating in politics was punishable by law. Modern-day Iraqi's risked their lives to vote. Hundreds of thousands of lives were lost to assure African-Americans the right to vote in America. And you think Scandal is important? Well, maybe it is, but after it's done it would behoove you to check out what's going on in the world for five minutes.
I'm not going to give you the standard, boring reasons why politics mater to your personal life. Yes, it's a citizen's right to vote, yes people died for your right to vote (regardless of gender or ethnicity), and yes, people around the world would trade places with you in a heartbeat; but we all know this at some level. Like I promised, we keep it real here. Let's be honest; politics are boring. The politicians are liars and fakes, the media is in bed with these guys (both Progressives and Conservatives), and they are all bought and paid for, bowing to the almighty dollar. What I am going to do is this: show you how politics affects your life now, how politics shapes the future for better or for worse, and how we can elicit change in the political landscape.
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee once said that there is “one problem with politics: the word politics. It comes from the Greek Poly- meaning ‘many’ and tics meaning ‘blood-sucking leeches.’” This comment, although hilarious, is chillingly accurate. Governor Huckabee’s definition of politics explains why many Americans, especially those of us in the Rising Generation, despise the political process. After all, being born in the 1980’s to mid- 1990’s, let’s think about our political memories. First, we had George Bush Senior’s “read my lips, no new taxes!” line, just before he raised taxes. Then, we had Bill Clinton, who was not only accused of rape but was caught with Miss Lewinsky. After Bill came George W. Bush, which needs no explanation, especially after one of our generation’s favorite entertainers went viral for claiming that “George Bush doesn’t care about black people” (just another gem from Kanye West). Finally, we had a bright star in Barack Obama, which of course turned out to be incorrect, as he failed to fulfill just about every single promise he made, along with not being half as “cool” as we thought and lying about “If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. Period” (We’ll dive into these issues in detail in another article). Mix in the Tech Bubble that popped, Y2K, The Great Recession, Hurricane Katrina, one big-ass earthquake in Japan, another one in Haiti, Tsunamis, Anthony Weiner’s ironic sexting, Blagojevich selling Senate seats, and growing up on The Backstreet Boys, and we’re doomed to think that these guys running the show are incapable of common sense, and that our teeny tiny little vote isn’t going to amount to much without a blank check attached to it. ***THIS IS EXAMPLE OF REAL POLITICS BEING MORE EXCITING THAN K.U.W.T.K.*** After all, millions of people vote, and we have the media constantly telling us that only a few Swing States like Ohio and New Hampshire matter in presidential elections, along with certain states automatically voting a certain way (i.e. Texas=Republican, California=Democrat). Then, the technicalities. The hell is the Electoral College, anyways? Why do we only have two parties, and why do they both suck? Plus, I can’t be a Republican, that’s the party of Old White Men who hate the poor and anyone who has a bit of pigment in their skin (We’ll get rid of this myth later, too. Note: I AM NO REPUBLICAN. Nor am I a Democrat. I just dislike non-truths.) Politicians spend in billions and chatter in trillions, we all know their smiles are perfectly practiced and fully fake. We know they don’t actually like that person they’re standing next to laughing with, that person is simply a prospective campaign donor. Money, sex, drugs, coercion. And we can’t do a damn thing about it. Or can we?
The first step in changing anything is to pay
attention to it. This may sound cliché, but it’s a cliché for a reason. But how
does the political landscape affect one’s everyday life? Simply put, in just
about everything one does throughout the day. The clothes you wear had to go
through customs, the money you spend is minted by “The Fed,” the food you eat
is regulated by the FDA, and most importantly, your paycheck is trimmed by
taxes. I’m writing this article from California, and it’s painful to look at my
paycheck, as nearly 40% of it gets eaten up by different kinds of taxes. If you
have any investments, like stocks or mutual funds, these are affected by
current events, good or bad. The Keystone Pipeline, relations with Vladimir
Putin and Russia, Tesla car fires, and the effective tax plans of the party in
control all affected my investments in recent years. Paying attention to politics isn't as difficult, time-consuming, or boring as it may seem. Maybe back in the day of the radio, or even with just the TV and a few major news outlets, but today we have literally endless news outlets in multiple forms from podcasts and YouTube to the traditional MSNBC or Fox News. The point is, make a commitment to tune in for a few minutes a day. explore different hosts, shows, and forms of delivery. I have found that I love listening to talk radio in the car and podcasts while I'm doing dishes or chores. These are things I have to do anyways, so I'm not losing any time. After a few months, I was able to sift through different hosts and sites, and learned who I liked and disliked. An important sidebar must be taken into consideration: know your host. Is this person a Progressive or a Conservative? Republican or Democrat? Do they work for or represent a major news corporation or are they independent? Do they have any affiliations or friendships with politicians? It's perfectly OK if they are any of the above, as we all lean left or right, but the awareness is key, so you can look for and recognize when their bias is getting in the way of the facts. Furthermore, I highly recommend having a 1:4 ratio of ingesting information from either side. Simply put, if you find yourself to be more of a conservative or Republican, and you enjoy listening to Michael Savage, Mark Levin, Ben Shapiro, and Bill Whittle (all amazingly talented, smart conservative hosts by the way), then you ought to listen to Thom Hartmann as well (who is liberal and a very talented host as well). This is to put things in perspective as well as catch your own biases. This happens to me all the time, and is a natural mechanism of the human psyche. So listening to an opposing point of view is helpful, even if it makes your blood boil. Plus, this is what the men and women in Washington cannot or will not do. They jump in their respective battle stations, and start firing away and slinging mud back and forth. If they would shut up and listen to one another (and I mean listen, not just wait anxiously to speak again), they might actually achieve something. Never mind listen to us, the American public, who normally are not as stuck in their political ideologies as much as the politicians, and would prefer a common sense, pragmatic solution rather than an ideological victory.
The next step is to vote. This is a must. This is how we kick out all the bulls running around the china shop breaking everything. Damage control is primary. To cite Governor Huckabee once again, "If a pipe on your sinks breaks and starts flooding everywhere, the first thing you do is stop the flow of water. Then you clean it up, THEN you fix it" (Note: this is para-phrased, not an exact quote. It was live TV, but I wrote down the quote as close and as fast as I could!). So first, we must stop the water from flooding by educating ourselves about politics and paying attention. Then we clean up the mess by voting out the useless and the harmful politicians from both our local, state, and national governments. And with mail-in ballots, it's literally as easy as filling in a few bubbles. Once we've stopped the flow and cleaned up the mess, it's time to rebuild and repair the problem. That is the focus of the rest of our blogs, podcasts, and videos (for more visit GenerationWho.com).
The next step is to discuss. Discuss what you've learned with people. Discuss what you saw on TV, what you heard on the radio, or what you saw on YouTube. Discuss how it affects your life, and how it may effect theirs. Ask who they like and don't like, especially this year, the year of the Presidential race! Play Devil's Advocate, and debate with them whatever their position may be. This clarifies and brings new insight to both them and you, and I have found this to be a very powerful tool in life (Thanks Dad!). I know the old rule to never discuss politics or religion on first dates or family get-togethers, but the divorce rate is well over 50%, so it really couldn't hurt. I do it, and I've had great luck on the dating scene. My Grandpa and I trade books all the time, which gives us stuff to talk about and laugh about, which is called bonding, and is good for any relationship. Don't shy away, just don't be an ideological jerk when discussing these issues. Don't be that guy.
The next step is to get involved. This is not mandatory, and may take on different forms. Very few of us will ever run for office in our lives. But, if you enjoy this blog thus far, that means you're probably a practical-minded person like myself and you would probably do much better than the demagogues there now. You can also donate to a pundit you enjoy, start your own Podcast, write a book, attend rallies, volunteer on a campaign, or do countless other things to get involved in the local, national, or international political scene. Do you have to become 'active?' No! But if you end up enjoying the brain stimulation you get from paying attention and putting the pieces together, then you will probably want an outlet for the frustration from lack of common sense in politics.
Simple, yet effective. We can save the burning building. We can fix the broken faucet. We can save this Great Nation. But it's up to us. The politicians won't fix it. The older generations broke it. We need to fix it. And we won't get there by being divided into sects, colors, and genders; we can only fix it by uniting as Individual Americans.
Oh, and PS: Pick up a copy of the Constitution. Then read it. It will only take you a matter of minutes to finish it. Or, download the app (yes, there's an app for that!). Just search "US Constitution."
