a little advice on complaining about politics

Can we talk about something real quick? I would appreciate it. I know I’ve said it before, but cynicism is a cop out. It’s the easiest, laziest way to make yourself feel intellectually superior, and it’s amazingly effective considering how inaccurate a portrayal of actual ability to assess reality it is. And recently I’ve noticed an increase in cynicism around politics in America. I get where everyone is coming from. I experience it myself. However, it being understandable and fairly universal doesn't mean it is not, in essence, laziness. So here's a little advice (a little advice that I'm also trying to follow), on how we can change the political system. And no, maybe we can't change it all. And yes, it will still be screwed up and full of negative power structures. But in the words of Eleanor Roosevelt; it is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.


1)Don’t vote for the president: Lately, I have found that I have some disturbingly juvenile tendencies. One of these is the propensity to roll my eyes (like ALL the way around, which just looks ridiculous) when I hear people tell me they only vote in the president election. Here’s the thing- yes, voting for the president is important in some ways, but if you are only going to vote in one election, for heaven’s sake make it your local elections. Seriously. City governments are some of the most corrupt entities we have in the US. Why? Because a money-laundering, crony-supporting, lobbyist-kiss-ass who hates schools and loves to spend tax dollars on hair plugs can stay in office for 30 years because, statistically speaking, voters choose local politicians based largely on name recognition. This is slightly (slightly) less true on a state level. I would hope that by now most people can see that what stops things from happening in government has more to do with large numbers of unmonitored congresspersons running around spouting nonsense rather than one single position. Don’t complain about the fact that government can’t get anything done, they can’t get anything done because we so often vote by towing a party line that we have spent years teaching politicians to believe what will get them in office and keep them there is radical pigheadedness. Everyone wants job security, right?

So here’s the thing, if you only vote in one election, the one that is most useful in terms of that which will have the greatest effect on you personally, is your local elections. After that, it’s state elections. Know what your city and state politicians are up to, how they act, who is consistent in bringing peace and prosperity to your life and the lives of those around you. The political sector has the capacity for an amazing trickle up effect. I sort of get those people who say they don’t vote because it doesn’t matter, in some ways they are right (when it comes to presidents, it’s difficult to determine behavior in office based off of campaign promises or party affiliation). But that is not to say voting doesn’t matter. Leave the presidential elections aside if you must, but, by all means, vote local and vote state, and watch the political climate change.

Some good sites (there aren’t a lot for local politicians, so you’ll just have to keep abreast of news on them or research by name)

http://www.politifact.com: a non-partisan fact checking group that rates things politicians say on a scale from pants on fire to completely true. Also fun to just read and shake your head, feeling superior.
http://www.votesmart.org/: a site where you can look up voting records etc of politicians to see if they match what you want
http://www.followthemoney.org/database/state_overview.phtml: if you have some time on your hands, you can definitely look here. All campaign contributions are public information, but a lot of times it’s difficult (at least for me) to search through because it’s not clear just from a name who is supporting your politicians monetarily.
http://www.corporations.org/campaign$$/: just a list of other sites that are helpful. Full disclosure, I haven’t gone to that many of them.

2)Don’t support lobbies: Lobbies are really good at taking complex situations and making them seem really simple and obvious. On a similar note, let’s give politicians the benefit of the doubt and say that they, on some level, genuinely want to support the interests of their constituents. How can they support your interests unless they know your interests? If the only voice they hear is the seemingly unified and coherent one of the lobbies, guess who they are going to listen to. So if you feel upset about an issue, don’t support the lobby that promoted it. Studies show that the more we come in contact with an idea, the more comfortable we are with it, the more we like it and the more likely we are to believe it (it’s called “the effect effect” which is a) and awesome name and b) really interesting case studies). Studies also show that it is difficult for most people to feel the difference between hearing an idea many times from the same source or once from a variety of sources. This means that the loudest, most consistent voice can often changes our minds on things. For instance, most of us know that pizza is not a vegetable, even if we claim otherwise, but somehow through the magical power of lobbying, it was deemed a fantastic idea to name it a vegetable for nutritional (nutritional!) purposes in public school lunches- you know, the free and reduced lunches given to a demographic with the highest rates of obesity and health problems in the US, as a result of poverty. I’m sure the first time each politician heard this, it seemed absurd. But after hearing over and over how tomato paste counts as a vegetable (it doesn’t) and how there is enough in pizza to count as a serving (there isn’t) and how it will reduce costs (ok, short term costs maybe), and parents who disapprove can pay to pack their kids lunch (many can’t or won’t), all of a sudden it seemed perfectly logical.

The need to think for yourself and avoid supporting lobbies includes ones that are purportedly looking out for your best interests. Now, I may get myself in a bit of trouble here, but I’m going to use the recent example of Senate Bill 5 in Ohio as an example. I read it, and while I am neither a lawyer nor a politician, to the best of my understanding all of the arguments (both for and against it) were mostly straw man arguments, or at least severely exaggerated. Now, maybe you believe that, for instance, seniority is the best determinant of a past and future achievement in which case, great! By all means, veto it. But please, don’t believe that just because you belong to a union that it is looking out for you or giving you accurate, untainted information. Most unions, particularly large ones, are wealthy, powerful, hierarchical entities that are predominantly concerned with bringing greater amounts of profit and power. Please don’t take this as me being anti-union. It’s me being anti-power structures of any kind that work to further marginalize people.

3)If you are going to watch one news channel, watch two: This will take more time if you do it daily, but maybe instead you can alternate. I know they are telling you not to try other stations because they are all the balanced, real news you need. This is one of the most brilliant marketing techniques I’ve ever seen- convincing people that they should never support anything else but you, that you are what they need, that everyone else is lying to them. Then, when you have convinced them of that, you systematically mold all their information until they think exactly like you need them to in order to support not only you, but your share holder interests. Incidentally, working in community development I have seen this same technique used by gangs, drug dealers, and abusive spouses. Try to balance, so if you watch a typically left wing station, try to watch a right wing one (and visa versa). This doesn’t mean you have to listen to Rush Limbaugh or Michael Moore. In fact, I would personally suggest avoiding political commentators all together.

As much as this pains me to say, if you get all your news information from John Stewart, Saturday Night Lives Weekend Update or the Onion, you really need to look at something not satirical. For one, you’ll get the jokes a lot better. For another, those only pick on the really absurd and/or high profile. Set your home page to BBC world news or your local newspapers website. Then, if you are feeling really adventurous, click on an article every once in a while. You can even pick a topic (i.e. the economy, civil rights, Latin American political climates) and follow it through different sources. Find a buddy who will follow a different topic and *gasp* have an interesting conversation every once in a while that DOESN’T involve who is sleeping with whom (note: if that’s your only area of interest, consider choosing to follow politician scandals, you will still be talking about who is sleeping with whom. It’s like the freaking Real World: Capitol Hill)

So yes, it will take some work. But seriously, only like an hour once a month. That’s it. Look at the news, check in on your politicians once a month. Don’t believe everything you hear. It’s worth it. Really. If we, as a people, are really too lazy to spend the equivalent of one lunch, or two tv shows every 4 weeks to keep those making decisions for us accountable, then yes. I think maybe we deserve whatever we get. What we don’t deserve is the right to be cynical.