Are there things that go on in this world that you don't agree with? I'm sure there's got to be something. Institutional suffering of animals from birth until death and mass slaughtering of them; child slavery in Ghana and the Ivory Coast; people in the very city you're living in going hungry every night; immense amounts of soil erosion from unsustainable farming practices -- these are all things that not only may you be unaware of, but that you may potentially be contributing to if you enjoy eating meat, eating chocolate, and indiscriminately buying food in general.
You can make the choice to go vegan, you can make the choice to buy only fair trade or from farmers' markets, and you can make the choice to spend some of your own free time to help get food into food banks -- these are all valid choices to make on the individual level to help make whatever small differences possible in regards to these occurrences that you may not agree with, or at least to remove your own personal responsibility from them. But so what? It makes you feel better, reduces cognitive dissonance, but are you making a difference in this world? To some extent, you may be.
Most big decisions are made within government, however. The president only has so much power. The community you live in has budgets and plans that are determined by people in office. Different people, whether they're people in office or people in the community, have different views, as obvious as that may sound. But I think it's an important point to make -- while someone may think it's important that less people go hungry at night, others are concerned that enacting a policy that will prevent hunger will enable people to take advantage of whatever benefits the government may offer as assistance and contribute less to society. This is just one of the examples of the major conflicts in politics. While one policy may have one intention, it may bring about other effects.
I know I didn't make thinking about politics any easier; that was never my intention. I think it's important to understand all of the ambiguities and struggles that come with thinking about politics. I think it's important not to avoid thinking about these things. Understand what's important to you and participate in this lively, interesting game of democracy; it's frustrating, but kind of fun when you get into it. Constantly challenge your own beliefs. Understand why others are voting opposite of why you are. I believe that this is the best way to understand and appreciate what politics are. Then, look at who is running, and what they are supporting, and choose your candidate.
Validation tends to come in numbers, and maybe, in some senses, that's why democracy can work. However, we need participation in order to validate democracy itself. Challenging your own beliefs can help to legitimize what you really think and help you to stray from the aggressive influence of mainstream media and find yourself. Dig deep. Represent yourself. Help and shape society in the way that you see fit.
Thanks for reading. Hope it's provoked some fresh thoughts, uncomfortable feelings, or just some cool ideas.
Joe, I agree with you that political engagement is the best way to get involved. Volunteering by giving your time or your money is great, but is that really the best way to help? As Tom Colicchio mentioned, helping out at a soup kitchen, donating money to prevent hunger are nice, but the best way to end world hunger is by politics. Once a politician loses an election because of world hunger, Washington will finally realize that world hunger is a huge issue. Politicians will lose their seat if they do not help end world hunger. A politician would more likely change their vote on world hunger if their constituents placed political pressure on them, as opposed to individuals donating time and money to a cause. Governments have the most resources, therefore they can achieve the largest amount of change.
ReplyDeleteJoe, and Ben I also agree that political engagement is very important in that it's the only way to make bigger and more widespread change, but I feel as though while it's easy to become politically involved within your community or on a smaller scale, it's incredibly difficult to get to those higher positions where this major decision making happens. Therefore for the large amounts of common citizens who may not have the time, money, or energy to devote to politics, day-to-day civic engagement, may be the best opportunity for their contribution to their communities, and for change.
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely important to choose your battles, Sena, I agree with that. It's not especially time-consuming to get a handle on politics, though. Learn the candidates and their platforms and boom, you're already at a great start. See what those issues mean to you and where you stand. You'll notice that day-to-day, the thoughts of these things can sit and simmer in your mind and cook into some opinions, maybe even passions.
DeleteIt doesn't really take any money, either. Just a bit of gumption to get over how unsightly politics can be on the surface and the right approach to really deal with the bitter taste that it may leave in your mouth.
I'm not sure, I haven't thought this out much, but I feel as though you'd have to make an effort to participate in civic engagement daily and not get into politics. It just kind of seems like a natural progression.
Sena, I disagree with your comment. I believe that a common citizen can make a difference, politically. One can attend a march, a rally or even a protest. For example, this summer I helped to organize a counter rally to support Israel. I learned the day before that there was a rally against the State of Israel. The rally against the State of Israel was planned weeks in advance. Hundreds of people came to the rally that I helped planned and there was less than 24 hours of notice. Our rally received regional coverage on TV.
ReplyDeleteWith the power of social media anything is possible. There was a Facebook page for the event and people from all over the country were getting invites. 15,000 people were invited and even though only a few a hundred showed up we still got publicity from our rally and stole part of the show from rally against Israel. Hope you enjoy the video http://www.nbcnewyork.com/video/#!/on-air/as-seen-on/Tensions-Rise-In-New-York-As-MId-East-Crisis-Grows/266627201
Tensions Rise In New York As MId-East Crisis Grows
www.nbcnewyork.com
Joe,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your viewpoint that being politically engaged is very important and is a very direct way of making a difference in the world. You make a very good point at the beginning about why many of us, including myself especially, do not like to engage in politics. Politics is very important and affects the lives of many individuals on a grand scheme, but it requires individuals who are very aware of all the information and possess the necessary resources to solve the issues that plague our society. However, I still feel that the small choices people make like going vegan or helping out with food banks are still very impactful because it brings out a sense of emotional fulfillment that drove them to engage civically in the first place. Those kinds of actions should not go unnoticed no matter how small they may be.
I have always felt that political engagement is the most effective way to enact change. Ultimately, it is politics that allows for policies to be created, altered or erased. One of my housemates is not registered to vote (this really bothers me), and her reasoning for this is because her parents don’t agree with our political system so they don’t vote, therefore she feels that she shouldn’t vote, and that even if she did vote that it wouldn’t make a difference. I know that there are other people out there that have similar stances as her: that their singular vote won’t make a difference. I think this viewpoint is a rather lazy stance and an easy way out. I think everyone should participate politically because in so many countries, this is not possible. We have the ability in the US to participate in rallies, marches, sign petitions, and vote. All of these things gain the attention of the masses and politicians, which can influence policy. I think being involved politically does involve knowledge, research and commitment, but I think it is important to be knowledgeable about the politics of your own country anyways because it affects us all. Therefore, I do believe that political engagement is one of the more important ways to be involved.
ReplyDeleteJoe,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your view of getting involved to make democracy work, however I also see the viewpoints of those who don't want to get involved. Many people simply aren't educated enough to make a decision or choice they think is best based on all the information out there (concerning policy making). I think people are actually being responsible if they don't get involved if they aren't educated in the process or the information on the topic and not just go along with what everyone else does. Essentially, someone could be doing more harm then good if they just blindly vote or push for something they know nothing about, and in doing which, promoting harmful consequences. Until those people become educated in the topic, I don't think they should take action. However I think that if people want to do something about a topic but don't know much about it, then making little changes in their personal life like going vegan or using products that haven't been tested on animals is a great way to start and those acts shouldn't go unnoticed, like Mohammad said.
Joe,
ReplyDeleteI very much agree with you on your views of the importance of the political process. Politics is honestly one of the most frustrating things we deal with in our lives in relations to others. I've noticed a general apathy to outright hostility to publicly stating your political views amongst others. To paraphrase a common saying, "never talk politics or religion in polite company". This seems to be the status quo amongst members of our generation. Our political beliefs are our own and don't need to be examined internally or externally. Further, many people see a pointlessness of voting with either their wallet or ballot as they are only one person. This has been incredibly detrimental to our democracy as our electorate drops, the more likely we are to elect politicians who cater to only a few, the few that vote. Overall, it is important to take our views seriously in our personal life, but we must as well engage in a more public way such as politics.