Why I Don't Like Politics

I often feel like in order to be a truly informed voter, I should have advanced degrees in economics and in history with emphases in the United States, the current most volatile areas of the world, and the major ancient civilizations. Rome at the very least. I can listen to two very different plans for fixing the economy and see sense in both of them. If I really know the history of the ancient civilizations, I have a better chance of noticing if we're in danger of making the mistakes that lead to their falls. And when I was in high school, a big topic of debate was whether we should go into Iraq. I heard my peers talk about it, but I always felt like I didn't understand the background well enough to form an opinion. If I don't fully understand the cultural mindset of the other side and what they want, what our interactions with them were like in the past, and how we got to this situation in the first place, how in the world am I supposed to figure out what to do now?

And that is a very typical feeling for me. No matter how much I've read about the various candidates and issues, when political topics come up, I usually just listen because I feel like everybody else knows and understands the issues way more than I ever could.

There are a handful of issues that I feel like I have an adequate understanding of and have come up with some firm opinions. But even there I have problems. For example, suppose I agree with Candidate A on one issue, but like Candidate B better on another of equal importance to me. Both are serious problems at this point in time. How do I choose between them? Or maybe I like Candidate A on the big issue of the time which I care deeply about, but I like Candidate B better on most of the issues receiving less press right now but that could become very important later on in the term.

Then there are the more personal details about the candidates. Say Candidate A and Candidate B look very similar on most issues. Candidate A originally ran against Incumbent C because he had been in for a long time and A said the congress needed new blood. Now A has been in longer than C had been at the time, which makes A seem hypocritical. But there is one major issue that could go my way - if I vote in A.

And of course there's looking at the candidate records and deciding if Candidate A changes his voting patterns to reflect the wishes of his constituency, to gain the favor of future voters, or because something in the intervening years really changed his mind. Or maybe his actions seem inconsistent because of different limits in his powers and influence or because of changes in the world around him or because he is working for leverage on something that seems more important at the time. And did Candidate B really know what his campaign worker said, and did he agree?

Then there's all the interest in the candidates' personal lives. As a general rule, if I don't care about you as a person, I don't much care what you wear or where you go on vacation or what clubs you belong to. I really do not want to know details about your romantic life. But during political campaigns, all this stuff gets dragged out. And honestly, I do want to elect officials with integrity, which should be there in all areas of their lives. But sometimes it seems to go a bit far. It seems to me that the details of college indiscretions shouldn't have a large impact in their careers 50 years later unless there is significant evidence that the problem is still there. And I suppose it doesn't happen all the time. But I have seen things dragged up that look to me like ancient history.

When I reffed soccer, my job was usually to run lines and watch for out-of-bound balls and offside violations. These responsibilities required me to stay exactly even with the second to last defender (or, occasionally, the ball), while keeping track of who had possession of the ball at all times, what attackers were between me and the goal, and when the ball was kicked. When I decided to stop reffing, it was largely because having to watch all that at once seemed impossible - I can only really look in one direction at a time. And it stressed me out.

When it comes to politics, I feel like I have even more to watch. And that can be for just one race.