Up until now I’ve had no desire to write about politics. The subject intimidated me. Whenever there’s been issues I questioned and conspiracy theories mentioned, I figured I was the uniformed one. Leave it to the smart people to fight over and stay out of it, I thought. Stay in your lane.
But every now and then I catch a headline or a story that makes me do a double-take, and I pause and wonder, Is that right? Is that true? Is that really a good idea?
Doubt would enter my mind once again. Do your homework, I told myself. You just don’t understand how it all works. Maybe there’s some truth to that. I don’t have any real experience in Washington. I never did get my degree in Political Science like I once aspired to.
However, as time goes by and I’ve grown up, I’ve done some homework, I’ve gained a little life experience, and I’ve learned a few things. Not enough to feel much more qualified, but enough to put a few ideas into words and words into sentences in hopes that they force you to pause and wonder too.
Now before you get too excited, I have no intention of getting partisan here. I am not going to tell you who to vote for next month. I just hope this series helps you navigate politics wherever you find yourself. And whether you are aware of it or not, unless you live alone on an island you own, you are navigating politics.
CAN YOU EXPLAIN YOUR WHY?
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned in the last ten years is how healthy it is for us to have our beliefs questioned and methods challenged. When we are forced to explain with our own mouths (not via political pundits and memes), we will discover what we think is really most important (and the truth is not always pretty).
Those who don’t know for themselves why they hold their beliefs, those who blindly do what they’ve been told, will struggle to leave a lasting legacy to the next generation. The next generation cannot stand on the shoulders of those who crumble when pressed upon. If the only explanation we have is, “Because it’s my right” or “That’s what my grandmother told me is right”, we might have some work to do.
When our beliefs are challenged and our laws are questioned, we are forced to ask the very simple, yet sometimes hard question, “Why?”
- Why does capitalism create the best economy? Does it really?
- Why is homelessness rampant? Do I care?
- Why should government regulate big companies? Issue farm subsidies?
- Why are there so many gun-related deaths?
- Why do we want to raise/lower taxes?
Do we know what we really believe, or do we just know what we’re told to believe?
Do we have any interest in solving systemic problems, or would we rather point fingers?
A single belief can inspire various methods and systems, but we have to know the why behind it or our strategies become meaningless. “It’s always been done that way” is a terrible reason to keep doing something. Your great-grandfather’s strategy for social security and retirement may not be the best strategy for your grandkids. But the belief that it’s an issue remains.
CAN YOU EXPLAIN YOUR NEIGHBORS WHY?
Most of us approach politics based solely on how our household is directly affected. (Or am I the only one?) We vote on tax reform that benefits our bank account. We vote for people who have the power to give us a step up. But how often do we vote with the needs of our community in mind? That is what politics is afterall.
“Politics is about making agreements between people so that they can live together in groups.”
When was the last time you made agreements with your neighbors about how your neighborhood should operate? When was the last time you voted with the needs of your neighbors in mind? Your city? We can’t if we don’t know them. We won’t know if we don’t engage with them.
It is common understanding across most cultures that you don’t discuss politics (or religion). Why? Because politics are personal. They make us feel vulnerable. They reveal our beliefs, and what if you don’t share the same beliefs I do? Can I still like you? We fear being different or not being supported, so we’d rather change the subject.
When we engage with our neighbors we’ll start to care about them, and when we care, we will want what’s best for them. When we want what’s best for them, we don’t have to “get political”. When we know them, we know their needs. When we understand their needs, we think differently about how politics affects them. We see how tax benefits and reform will help or hurt them. We discover a disability, a need for childcare, a business dream, a single mom working two jobs.
When we understand the needs of our community it changes how we answer political questions. We don’t just go in with our bank account in mind, we go in with Bob or Mary in mind. We think of how to create a housing solution because of the homeless guy we pass on the corner every day, or the convict who’s earnestly struggling to get a new start in life. We go in thinking of the single mom’s bank account and the small business owner. We vote, not just thinking of ourselves, but thinking of our neighbors too.
When we know why we believe what we say we believe, those beliefs will inform how we address those needs. When we know what our neighbors believe, we will become better citizens. We approach solutions with our community in mind, not just ourselves.
In Mary Beard’s book, SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome, she says, “Cultural anxieties are often a privilege of the rich.” Those who had time, money, and freedom had different issues to obsess over than those who were poor or enslaved.
If you’re able to read these words on a device or have access to “breaking news”, you are privileged. You may not have all you want or dream, and you may not always care, but the simple fact that you can choose to be aware of the political climate, candidates, and can stress about it puts you in a place of power. And like Uncle Ben says, “With great power comes great responsibility”.
You may not feel like the power you wield is all that great, but the power to vote is great for those who are still fighting for their right to do so.