A thought before election day

Just a little something to consider before heading to the polls.

A lot of politics is all about reacting to something – perceived mistreatment, perceived injustice, a need for law to prevent all of the above.

But I grow suspicious, and more than a little weary, of people whose whole idea of running for office is all reaction. Let’s repeal this. Let’s reverse that. Let’s hit the UNDO button on the past couple of years.

And… what are you going to do after that?

I used to have a step-parent who was a vile, vile person. When I was younger and had a bit more piss and vinegar behind me, I used to do stuff just because I knew she didn’t like it. As it turned out, some of the stuff I wound up doing was stuff I wouldn’t even normally do – I was only doing it to piss her off. As much as I was trying to keep her from controlling my life, I was still putting her in the driver’s seat.

If the folks you’re voting for have no idea what they’re going to do beyond repealing or reversing something, that’s not someone to vote for, because they don’t have any ideas of their own – they just want to get into office to piss on other people’s ideas. And ultimately, because their every move is a reaction to someone else’s move, they’re not in the driver’s seat – not in control.

We have got to get out of the mindset where politics is dominated by the 24 hour news cycle and the 8-second soundbite, by “news sources” and bloggers publishing very selectively edited (and carefully de-contextualized) pieces of information, and by “news sources” who have aligned themselves to one extreme or the other. The political conversation in this country isn’t “fair and balanced” anymore: it’s bedlam.

Only part of that is the candidates and the people presently serving in office, however. A lot of the above is stuff that we, the public, can choose to digest – or to avoid. When so much “amateur journalism” is pre-slanted (and therefore, in my opinion, not really journalism), the burden of fact-checking and of triangulating the truth amid a series of seemingly opposite viewpoints falls to us, the consumer of the media. The media used to check this stuff for us, and served as a buffer for bullshit. The media no longer do this. We have to provide our own bullshit buffer.

Think before you accept a piece of “news” at face value. Look not only at the background of the people in the news, also look at the background of the people reporting it. Because unfortunately, in this day and age, they’re part of the sordid cast of characters too.

It used to be that being a journalist required years of study (including – as I remember from my own time in college when journalism was my major – extensive study and discussion of ethics, impartiality, and double and triple checking the facts.

Now it seems that all it requires to be a journalist is a URL and an axe to grind. And that’s precisely what places the burden of fact-checking on the public. Don’t stop demanding it from the media, however. And especially don’t stop demanding it from yourself – demand more of a platform than just hitting the nearest “undo” button, no matter who you’re voting for. Think, don’t just react.

Also remember to contact your doctor if you have an election lasting more than four hours.