My Politics

Politics is a strange thing. Everybody hates politicians, but you can't go on without them. I enjoy learning about politics, but I don't really like talking about them. It seems like every side you can take is a bad choice. Choosing   an option like Republican or Democrat seems to cement you into a whole collection of ideas that you may not necessarily share. You say you're a Democrat and people assume you're an angry hardcore anti-religion atheist or you're pro-choice, you say you're Republican and people assume you vote against gay marriage, you hate immigrants, or you hate non Christians and so forth. Even when it comes to the less extreme positions, there are no in betweens. You may agree with less funding to the military or the welfare system, but you don't agree with the tax ideas that often go with the respective government funding focuses. Even though most people don't hold the entire belief set attributed to a party, it's commonly assumed that they do. Things like this make me hesitant to pick any one side, despite me holding beliefs that may fit either party. Third parties are alternatives to the main two parties, but these small parties often have a single focus and only one true cause that all members have in common, which does not seem conducive to getting things done. I feel like there's no real way to be satisfied with my choice of political party, which leaves me sitting as an independent, which I am still not sure about.

Another thing I find absolutely ridiculous in politics is how politicians and even regular people seem to spend more time trash talking the opposition rather than supporting their claim. People always talk about how everyone on the "other side" is stupid and shouldn't have the right to vote. The parties are almost like opponents in a war. Why does everything have to be so hostile? Additionally, ad campaigns for politicians often times revolve around, "Vote for me, because the other guy eats babies," rather than, "Vote for me, because I support X, Y, and Z and this is how I plan to achieve these goals." Politicians are more concerned with getting votes (which is obvious, considering their job relies on it) by being completely vague about their position and explaining why the other guy is a bad choice. Risking votes by specifying what you believe in is almost a no-no for politicians. It seems like the only honest politicians are (in)conveniently the ones that openly run against gay people or have a clear religious bias. Politics seems like it's based completely around dishonesty.

Politics in general almost makes me hate our governmental system (but it's not like there are any better choices). There's pretty much no way for us to win.