Do You Understand Poltical Indifference?

[Con T.]

Just something that came to mind a couple days ago. Recently I've been on a service trip outside the country, with about eleven other Americans, all of whom seemed indifferent to what was going on in Washington. Today was my first day home, and I wound up going on a tangent about John Boehner becoming the new House Speaker, and Robert Gibbs resigning, and the like. To which, many of the people I were talking to said something along the lines that they didn't care, and that it isn't important to them.

To which I want to know, am I being an asshole for believing their morons for saying things that directly affect our lives isn't important, or do you not, like me, understand political indifference? I'll admit, I'm a politics nerd, and a tad pretentious if I do say so myself. But do you understand political indifference?

 

[Барбоса]

I am politically indifferent so I completely understand.

 

[Con T.]

I am politically indifferent so I completely understand.

Perhaps I should be more specific. Political Indifference can be put alot of ways. If you're talking about specifically supporting one party, I get what you're getting at. But to not actually pay attention is more my point, I s'pose

 

[Kip The Fury]

Yeah I keep track of the major decisions but apart from that I don't really care about politics. I don't really understand the inner workings of governments and I dont have any motivation to learn.

 

[Барбоса]

Perhaps I should be more specific. Political Indifference can be put alot of ways. If you're talking about specifically supporting one party, I get what you're getting at. But to not actually pay attention is more my point, I s'pose

I don't really pay attention either for I find the more attention I pay the more I hate politics and the idiots that are involved in them.

 

[Con T.]

Yeah I keep track of the major decisions but apart from that I don't really care about politics. I don't really understand the inner workings of governments and I dont have any motivation to learn.

Yeah, I never really buy into this entirely, simply because to me, there's simply no such thing as a minor decision. Every decision, read, every has the potential to make a significant impact upon the country. That, plus most major decisions are really nothing more than the accumulation of minor decisions, which help create the larger perspective.

Which forces me, once again, to ask the same thing that I've already wondered... Why not pay attention?

 

[Con T.]

I don't really pay attention either for I find the more attention I pay the more I hate politics and the idiots that are involved in them.

See, that's the thing; you at least have an opinion. Most people hate politics. At least it's something. At least there's a knowledge of what's going on. Now, if you hate the people involved, so be it. Personally, I'd make the argument that's why you follow, to keep informed on candidates to knock off those you hate. Most of the time, though, the other candidate really isn't all that much better.

Still, though, that isn't indifference, that's hatred. I'm talking about people who outright aren't aware. Who couldn't name the last house speaker, or can't tell you why it's better for tax cuts to be put into place for the upper class, though they claim to support it.

 

[Kip The Fury]

I don't really pay attention either for I find the more attention I pay the more I hate politics and the idiots that are involved in them.

^This

That and I feel theres nothing i can personally do to affect those decisions that are being made. The decisions are going to be made whether i want them to or not.

 

[Барбоса]

Which forces me, once again, to ask the same thing that I've already wondered... Why not pay attention?

Simply put, because paying attention will make no difference to the actual decision and the chances that the decision will have a significant impact on your life is limited, especially when you are trying to make ends meet.

 

[Con T.]

^This

That and I feel theres nothing i can personally do to affect those decisions that are being made. The decisions are going to be made whether i want them to or not.

Maybe; I personally find that to be a lot of horse shit. What, we know it's going to happen, so why bother fighting it anyway?

That's a defeatist attitude, really. I don't have a say, so why bother. Let's just pose something here. Let's say you're company proposes a new plan that removes dental coverage from your contracts. Do you decide you don't care, because it's going to happen regardless of what you say? Or do you get pissed, and at least try to fight it off?

And yes; politics, much like the idea I blatantly ripped from the Simpsons, does in fact matter as much.

 

[Con T.]

Simply put, because paying attention will make no difference to the actual decision and the chances that the decision will have a significant impact on your life is limited, especially when you are trying to make ends meet.

Fair enough. You're from Northern Ireland, right?

Work with me here. Unionist or Nationalist? Which best describes you?

 

[Ty Burna]

I hate both parties, they both fuck up, don't want to work together, are more interested in protecting their own interests rather than the nation's well being, and I could go on. They just scream and yell at each other calling the other a fuck up without doing anything to prove they themselves are not one as well.

In short, I hate politics, I pay attention to what's going on, but most of those involved in the federal government, I could care less for.

 

[Kip The Fury]

The company example is on a much smaller scale though. If i wanted to fight against it it might be a case of persuading maybe a hundred or so people to support me, get a petition going, or going through an appeal process or something similar.

If i wanted to go against a law being passed it could be a case of getting the support of millions of people or going through a long complicated appeal process (could be making a completely null point right now but I shall plough on).

Maybe your right, if i did feel strongly enough about an issue there are courses of action i could take, but depending on the scale of the issue its going to take a considerable amount of effort to make a change.

You can call it defeatist if you like but in my opinion, whats the point of putting that much effort into a fight i probably won't win.

 

[Барбоса]

Fair enough. You're from Northern Ireland, right?

Work with me here. Unionist or Nationalist? Which best describes you?

Having never voted due to religious connotations of said vote, I would say that I do not support either but as I am of Protestant heritage, I would have some Unionist leanings.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

I really do not mind if someone is politically indifferent, or apolitical. However, it does bother me when that same person decides one or two months prior to an election that he/she has strong feelings one way or the other. Does that person still have the right to vote? Of course. But that doesn't mean I have to like it.

 

[Tastycles]

I'm not bothered either way about it.

 

[Chardee Macdennis]

In my opinion, (at least for me it did) political indifference should've went out the window immediately following 9/11. Before that, I neither followed, nor cared about politics. Since then, I think it is extremely important to at least be informed on the major issues. And it's more that just terroristic issues. Every aspect of what gov't does affects our lives in one way or another. If that is going to continue to be the case, I'd certainly like to know how/why it will affect me and my family personally.

 

[Uncle Chester]

The type of political indifference you're talking about has been driving American elections for decades.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

Just something that came to mind a couple days ago. Recently I've been on a service trip outside the country, with about eleven other Americans, all of whom seemed indifferent to what was going on in Washington. Today was my first day home, and I wound up going on a tangent about John Boehner becoming the new House Speaker, and Robert Gibbs resigning, and the like. To which, many of the people I were talking to said something along the lines that they didn't care, and that it isn't important to them.

To which I want to know, am I being an asshole for believing their morons for saying things that directly affect our lives isn't important, or do you not, like me, understand political indifference? I'll admit, I'm a politics nerd, and a tad pretentious if I do say so myself. But do you understand political indifference?

and they, in turn, likely think you are a moron for being so spastic about things in which your opinion and energy make absolutely no difference and do not matter.