2 ms·
By being durably involved in your community and by being aware of and not ignoring the consequences of your actions, of the policies you advocate for, the actio
by roughly 2mo ago
By being durably involved in your community and by being aware of and not ignoring the consequences of your actions, of the policies you advocate for, the actions of the politicians you endorse, etc. By not just voting once and moving on.
- bko 2mo agoWhat does this mean? This is all vague. "Being aware" "advocate for" What are you talking about? Should you hound co-workers that don't work for you? Leave pamphlets on cars with bad bumper stickers? Subscribe to the New Yorker? If you're interested in politics you should read it, but you should not let it affect your life in any meaningful way.
- roughly 2mo ago> you should not let it affect your life in any meaningful way. Oh, I’ve got really bad news for you.
- chaps 2mo agoYou're being needlessly antagonistic and it makes me think you haven't actually explored local options. Let's start elsewhere: what sort of civic engagement are you involved with? Have you ever submitted a FOIA request? Been to a community advocacy group?
- bko 2mo agoI have not. Are these things you advocate? I have picked up garbage around my neighborhood. Kept my sidewalk clean and tidy. Helped neighbors w basic tasks. Does this count?
- marknutter 2mo agoYou're not going to get far talking to political fanatics. And like you said, they very likely do not have their own houses in order.
- chaps 2mo agoEverybody should submit FOIAs. If that makes me an advocate for public records, then sure, I'm an advocate. And of course those things count, but it's arguably only focused on your immediate surroundings. I've done some pretty significant cleanup of parks in my area. It's very rewarding. Are you interested in being less antagonistic about basic civics?
- preg_match 2mo agoPolitics affects your life in basically every way you could possibly think of, regardless of your apathy towards it. When you’re apathetic, these decisions don’t just disappear. You implicitly delegate them to everyone else. Now, knowing what you know about most people, does that sound like a wise idea? It’s sort of like saying “I don’t care where we eat” in your friend group, and then they choose sushi and you hate fish. Whoops.
- solid_fuel 2mo ago> Politics affects your life in basically every way you could possibly think of, regardless of your apathy towards it. Yep, 100%. It's unavoidable. Being able to vote? You have that right because people engaged in politics. Being educated for free as a child? Politics. Clear air to breath? Politics. 5 day work week? Politics. Not held in chattel slavery? Politics. Allowed to worship at a church of your choosing - or not worship at all? Politics. Our entire modern lives were built by people engaging in politics. Ignoring political issues is wreckless and shortsighted.