It will come as no surprise to those who know me that I am both a voracious reader and a person of strong opinions. This is particularly true when it comes to politics. What you may not know, is that every 4 years, around this time of year, I get so fed up with the pandering, pettiness, and treasonous stupidity of our elected officials (or would-be elected officials as the case may be) that I give up entirely and stop reading anything politically oriented until it's all over in November.
In point of fact, I have not voted for a candidate who was actually on the ballot since 1996 (I voted for Bob Dole: I was only 18 and cannot be held responsible for my actions). Since then I have either shirked my civic duty entirely(2000) or written in the name of a friend (2004). For some reason I could not resign myself to the prospect of voting for a person simply because he/she represents the lesser of two evils.
That said, I am committed to going the distance this year. This year I will continue to pay attention to politics. This year I will vote for a balloted candidate. Why, you may ask, am I suddenly so willing to trod where, heretofore, I would not deign? The reason is petty and somewhat embarrassing: this year I will vote for the candidate who fails to piss me off the most, not because I actually prefer that candidate, but out of spite for the candidate who has most engendered my ire.
Furthermore, to maintain both my sanity and my sense of civic responsibility, I will be venting my frustrations, and collecting my thoughts on productive and sustainable governance -- here on my blog. Finally a use for the damn thing!
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1 comment:
Here here! I look forward to your commentary. Despite being aware of it (and thus a little more wary of the effect), my political views are still too influenced by personality and media.
I find that a good number of ideas you've introduced to me (in our conversations) remain very influential in the ways I look at the world.
Also, it will be fun to see which candidate ticks you off ;)
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