Life Between 0 and 1

When stopping to survey the landscape of politics, it would be hard to argue that were not in some kind of meat grinder or dystopian movie of the future. The news cycles are depressing on a good day and almost impossible to watch on a bad day. So much news and not enough time in the day to show it let alone decide was takes priority over other topics. I don’t envy anyone in the news industry right now because the Internet contains details that support the world view you believe. What people don’t believe is classified as “fake news” or that “w” word I literally can’t stand to hear.

I don’t have conversations about politics on a regular basis anymore. Just the idea of trying to explain your position with someone who doesn’t share your point of view is often frustrating. Not because they’re wrong for having a different opinion, but because my experience has been a lack of listening because there’s too much talking. I like to consider myself having an open mind and have, in the past, changed my opinion based on a compelling and evidence backed conversation. The lack of evidence in some of these political theories makes it too difficult to discuss as it often leads to the statement “Prove to me that xyz isn’t true”. That usually isn’t how one debates with an open mind, obviously, because that negative statement is a red flag of someone who probably doesn’t listen. For example, a flat earther getting evidence that there is in fact a curve and they dismiss it with another theory.

A fellow blogger reminded me that both sides of the political spectrum are owned by corporations. What are we to do? Some people will protest by not voting, which is the equivalent of being willfully ignorant. A better protest would be to go into the voting booth, not select anyone, and just immediately hit the vote button. In this way, you’re showing up, but not providing a vote to either side. A better approach would be to go to local meetings about candidates, watch debates (when it’s not pre-school-ish), and generally find the information you need to make a proper decision on who you want representing you. The best protest is to get involved with local politics directly and making a tangible difference. That is, if you don’t yourself become sucked into the corporate greed and power grabs.