Summing up Average American Interests

One of the more frustrating things about being from a politically interested family, and having a driving need to know what is going on in the world and in my country, is that you frequently run into people who do not care about politics. At all. They don't read the news, they don't vote for local elections, and sometimes don't vote for president because it is a "waste of time" or "it doesn't matter."

Some people care, but only through esoteric theory, "I am a Marxist/Anarchist/Socialist," or a combination thereof. They have a stance and a point of view, but they focus on the negative or overview of the system leaving out legislation that reflects their views, or historical precedent that shows a complete failure in terms of application. These people will generalize and name call their way through black and white arguments, where clear-cut right and wrong define the world. They also don't vote because, deciding that the status quo will drown out their voices. They have a point, radicals and revolutionaries are frequently so fractured in goals and issues that they cannot create a loud enough voice to accomplish much. A pity really, at least about some topics.

To get back to my real issue; the people who just don't care. They feel that there are more interesting and more important things in life. The picture is of this morning's CNN front page. Another celebrity died this year, and thankfully she was not popular enough/idolized to give us another 8 months of culturally inundating "biographic tributes" the way Michael Jackson did.

Below this "popular story" we see a reference to the Health-Care bill working its way through the partisan and morbidly convoluted halls of government. A topic that is hard to discuss with anyone who only cares to read the top layer of their favorite newspaper/site. If you are going to care enough to talk about the importance of this massive reform, please read enough that "death panels" "public options" "socialism" and "saving American lives" become information beyond buzzwords and angry accusations.

At the same time as this, rather long-winded and winding rant/op-ed, there are a few dozen articles about how Americans are only intellectually aware of the Afghan war. They describe the differences of how we are perceiving this war versus World War II and Vietnam. Some describe appalling conditions in bases and how foreign governments are approaching their respective roles. There are articles and op-eds and research papers being posted about immigration and how employers need to be truly taken to task for hiring illegal immigrants. Or about how manufacturing in America can be helped to grow. Unfortunately, of course, Brittany Murphy died yesterday, and some large portion of people won't get beyond that story.

To paraphrase Emma Goldman: To avoid real discussion on change, we are distracted by the trivial and the re-discovery of old problems long ignored and unresolvable.