Political Outsider
I think it's time for me to give up on politics for a while. Now in a way, I've already done exactly that. I've not been actively involved in a political campaign in two and a half years. I'm not one of those twits who acts like he's some sort of political activist or "policy expert" because I make a hobby out of reading blogs and the Politics section of the Washington Post online edition. That said, I think I am going to draw further back out of the sphere of public affairs. The reasons for this move are many.
First and foremost, I can't trust the press. I'm not going to even dignify discussions about whether 'the media' is liberal or conservative in slant. They might just be careless, ratings-grubbing, or undereducated. All I know for sure is that I can't trust them, so I'm not prone to trust *anyone's* sources any more when it comes to political arguments. Honestly, I'm not sure how I'm supposed to draw any conculsions with so much misinformation out there. All of you blog fans can just keep reading them. They're no more trustworthy, and you know it.
Secondly, I can't trust any politicians, particularly at the federal level. And yes, by that I mean your favorite member of Congress, about whom you insist "this one's different." The members of our government have enormous incentive to play fast and loose with the truth, and virtually zero incentive (beyond the kindness of their own hearts - which, given the electoral process, is probably not what got them into office) to be honest, even in the most passing fashion. I'd have to be a complete fool to trust any of them.
Third, there are scant few legitimate ideologies out there. I defy anyone to give me a consistent definition of what constitutes liberal or conservative principles. I actually think libertarianism is the sole exception to this rule, however, it tends to be rather extremist, and libertarians tend to choose sides among the faux ideologies a bit too often. They've also allowed themselves to be co-opted too frequently. The gigantic void of principle all too often leads to people talking past one another and eventually calling one another hypocrites (and more often than not, they're right).
Fourth, the timbre of political discussion has fallen through the floor. Even most of my most thoughtful left-leaning friends spend a considerable portion of their day with bile dripping from their chins, after uttering some just plain hateful statement regarding the right. Most of my friends on the right are no different regarding their feelings about the left. And of course, the great irony is that neither group could define right or left with any consistency, because those definitions don't exist in any honest form. When the people I *like* (a small subset) are hard people with whom to talk politics, there's not much point any more.
Fifth, I am so sick of being stereotyped as an American by Americans. I'm sick of hearing about how much this place sucks from people who aren't lifting a finger to make it better. I'm tired of reading about ethical, moral, or social 'crises' or 'grave injustices' that people don't care about beyond their desire to depress others. I like it here. I like being free (for the most part), and I like making my own choices. I'll resist people telling me what to do, but I don't need to sit through hours and hours of ranting about this week's political bad guy in order to do that.
Finally, either I'm going to do something, or I'm not. Politics has become a sport (primarily a spectator sport) for legions of self-styled intellectuals who want to feel good about sitting on their asses and doing nothing. They read a bunch of blogs, buy the most recent Borders specials from their anointed good guys, coin some new phrases that mock or deride their political opposition, and move on about their lives. I'm not going to be one of those people.
I have my own sense of philosophy and ethics. I have actually read the books on which our current Western notions of freedom and self-governance are based, and I understood them. I'll always know what I feel to be right, and I will act on it. But I'm not gonna walk around debating and pretending to be some sort of politico so I can sound thoughtful at parties. I'm neither going to nod in mild agreement with the accepted wisdom of those surrounding me at any given moment, nor debate it at length. It's just not worth it, and in our current climate, it does more harm than good.
So don't expect me to wax political here or in person any more. I may still comment on the world based on my principles (I reserve the right to rip on the whole mess in one fell swoop), but you'll not see me mention any party, politician, or talking head, and no, I probably won't know most of the dreck that's been in the news. I'm not going away mad, but I am going away. There's way too much interesting stuff out there, and way too many legitimate ways to help people out, to waste my time with politics any longer. I remain mistrustful and critical of all authority, and will question it and criticize it at will.
Matt on 04.29.05 @ 01:13 PM CST [link] [91 Comments]
