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A few years ago (pre trump election) I took an uber with a driver who was very engaged in politics. I cared a lot at the time and we had an interesting discussi

A few years ago (pre trump election) I took an uber with a driver who was very engaged in politics. I cared a lot at the time and we had an interesting discussion about national politics. Then I asked him about Chicago and Illinois politics (where we were) and he said he didn't follow local politics. I was shocked. While Trump getting elected certainly impacted that persons life, their actual ability to make change in their community would be far more impactful if they focused on the local level. But local politics do not provide as much fun political us vs them talk which is what it feel like most people actually enjoy about politics.

EricE 5y ago
The focus on national politics by the media and both parties is the greatest scam perpetuated by an (unfortunately) all too willing populace. As the old saying goes, All politics are local. And the last four years in particular have been a huge wake up call to me that I need to get WAY more interested and involved in local politics. Utter BS like critical race theory would never get a toe hold in our schools, for example, if people paid attention at all to what was going on in their literal back yard. In one way COVID and kids attending school remotely has been hugely beneficial in that a lot of people have started to pick up on the utter garbage being routinely foisted on our kids.
- andorxor 5y ago
  Some things really can't be changed on the local level. Take forced arbitration in contracts for example. This was made possible by a federal law passed in the 1920's, and further cemented by a series of supreme court rulings in the past couple of decades. No amount of desire or political will by individual states can ban the practice. The federal law trumps all, and this must be changed at the national level.
  - Taylor_OD 5y ago
    Sure. There are a large number of items that are national law that can have great change. But the average persons ability to impact those things is very very very small. The average persons ability to impact their own local politics and make change is much much much larger than many think.
- thaumasiotes 5y ago
  > Utter BS like critical race theory would never get a toe hold in our schools, for example, if people paid attention at all to what was going on in their literal back yard. The toeholds would still be there. This stuff seeps into schools because it is taught in university education departments, which provide required credentials for schoolteachers. If people paid attention to what was happening in their backyard, none of that would change. But if people paid attention to their local schools, they might do a better job preventing educational fads from growing in them.
  - Taylor_OD 5y ago
    > This stuff seeps into schools because it is taught in university education departments, which provide required credentials for schoolteachers. Dont states give certifications for teachers, not colleges/universities?
    - thaumasiotes 5y ago
      See e.g. https://www.ctc.ca.gov/commission/reports/data/approved-institutions-and-programs https://www.ctc.ca.gov/commission/reports/data/approved-inst... > For educators prepared in California, completing a Commission-approved educator preparation program is required to earn a credential or authorization.
  - nerdponx 5y ago
    As far as I can tell, it seeps into schools because well-intentioned educators are seeking an alternative to the failed program of "colorblindness" which persisted for decades and raised generations of privileged people who think racism was eradicated in the late 1960s. And young people are themselves actively interested in repudiating and reversing the mistakes of their elders. Maybe it's an extreme reaction. Critical race theory is certainly an extreme way of looking at the world if you take it literally and not as a thought experiment. But I just see it as a swing of the pendulum. I wish people wouldn't get "canceled" over it, but I don't think it's the slippery slope to Maoism that people seem to think it is.
- nerdponx 5y ago
  Consider that some people pick up critical race theory because of what they see in their literal back yard.

EricE 5y ago

The focus on national politics by the media and both parties is the greatest scam perpetuated by an (unfortunately) all too willing populace. As the old saying goes, All politics are local. And the last four years in particular have been a huge wake up call to me that I need to get WAY more interested and involved in local politics. Utter BS like critical race theory would never get a toe hold in our schools, for example, if people paid attention at all to what was going on in their literal back yard. In one way COVID and kids attending school remotely has been hugely beneficial in that a lot of people have started to pick up on the utter garbage being routinely foisted on our kids.

andorxor 5y ago
Some things really can't be changed on the local level. Take forced arbitration in contracts for example. This was made possible by a federal law passed in the 1920's, and further cemented by a series of supreme court rulings in the past couple of decades. No amount of desire or political will by individual states can ban the practice. The federal law trumps all, and this must be changed at the national level.
- Taylor_OD 5y ago
  Sure. There are a large number of items that are national law that can have great change. But the average persons ability to impact those things is very very very small. The average persons ability to impact their own local politics and make change is much much much larger than many think.
thaumasiotes 5y ago
> Utter BS like critical race theory would never get a toe hold in our schools, for example, if people paid attention at all to what was going on in their literal back yard. The toeholds would still be there. This stuff seeps into schools because it is taught in university education departments, which provide required credentials for schoolteachers. If people paid attention to what was happening in their backyard, none of that would change. But if people paid attention to their local schools, they might do a better job preventing educational fads from growing in them.
- Taylor_OD 5y ago
  > This stuff seeps into schools because it is taught in university education departments, which provide required credentials for schoolteachers. Dont states give certifications for teachers, not colleges/universities?
  - thaumasiotes 5y ago
    See e.g. https://www.ctc.ca.gov/commission/reports/data/approved-institutions-and-programs https://www.ctc.ca.gov/commission/reports/data/approved-inst... > For educators prepared in California, completing a Commission-approved educator preparation program is required to earn a credential or authorization.
- nerdponx 5y ago
  As far as I can tell, it seeps into schools because well-intentioned educators are seeking an alternative to the failed program of "colorblindness" which persisted for decades and raised generations of privileged people who think racism was eradicated in the late 1960s. And young people are themselves actively interested in repudiating and reversing the mistakes of their elders. Maybe it's an extreme reaction. Critical race theory is certainly an extreme way of looking at the world if you take it literally and not as a thought experiment. But I just see it as a swing of the pendulum. I wish people wouldn't get "canceled" over it, but I don't think it's the slippery slope to Maoism that people seem to think it is.
nerdponx 5y ago
Consider that some people pick up critical race theory because of what they see in their literal back yard.