During the last ‘election summer’ things went haywire but ultimately nothing meaningful really happened, and not a whole lot really changed as a result of that unrest. This time things are going haywire again, and it seems like something big will happen but people thought that the last time… Would it just be better to ignore everything and go work on yourself, your skills, etc. or consume whatever thing is going on? The constant fear that’s being pushed is so emotionally exhausting… I’m finding it harder to care about these things without anything major happening, as shitty as that sounds
I don’t often comment my opinions but I’m curious to hear the arguments for my rationale:
Call it what you want; ignorance, childish, stupid, etc. I don’t pay attention to the news (haven’t for many years now) and I firmly believe it’s okay that I don’t.
So much of what’s presented by the media doesn’t impact my day-to-day life in the slightest. Ex. War in a foreign country is kicking off…what can I do about that? Gas prices go up…am I going to stop getting gas?
When hanging out with friends and family, the larger topics tend to be brought up and that’s how I learn what is going on currently (especially when this happens with different groups of people) without trying.
I also don’t vote because, at this point, I’d consider myself the definition of an uninformed voter.
You’re essentially keeping yourself ignorant, and then saying you’re too ignorant to take action. Just ridiculous.
Trump was elected and as a direct result: Roe was overturned, pregnant women are having their lives risked over non-viable pregnancies, others are forced to have children they don’t want, gun control has been struck down, Christian Nationalism is heavily asserting itself at a time when fewer and fewer people are religious, the pandemic was bungled leading to thousands and thousands of unnecessary deaths, $2t was given away to the uber-wealthy, air and water quality standards were rolled back, ultra-conservative judges have been instituting national bans from the 5th circuit, gay and trans rights have been rolled back…and on and on…and that’s without getting to all the states banning books and destroying the social safety net.
I guess you could not be a woman, not know a woman, not care about getting shot, or know anyone who you don’t want to see get shot, like oppressive religious tenets foisted upon you, not worry about dying of communicable disease, or know anyone that you wouldn’t want to see die of communicable disease, be ok with your tax dollars being given to the rich, and not be gay or trans or care about anyone who is…but you must at least breath air and drink water, right?
It all affects you, you’re just too ignorant to realize how. Your apathy and indifference are what allows shitty people to hurt others. But if you don’t care about that, no one can force you.
For a lot of people, elections (particularly national elections) don’t impact their day to day life. For some, though, the outcome of those national elections are very important. If you are, for example, trans, national elections around this time could alter the course of the trans civil rights movement. The president with their power to veto may be the only one capable of halting anti-trans bills if conservatives have a slim majority in the Senate and House. That’s why many trans people must concern themselves with politics and current events, must know what platforms candidates are running on and how the public is responding, must know what to expect and plan for the worst. Likewise with state and local elections, which may radically alter the life plans of a trans person. Thus, a trans person must know what’s happening now, what will happen next, and what they can expect for the future
The same applies to the right to abortion, or access to Healthcare for those dealing with long-term illness, or those attempting to unionize for better working conditions. When these things affect you directly, and when candidates are running on taking away the protections you need, you can’t afford to live in blissful ignorance.
So please, if you care about any of these groups, do spend a little time getting up to speed and drawing your own conclusions so you can vote in a way that you believe will improve the lives of your fellow citizens