I can see how easy it is to become apathetic

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   jellydonut25posted 15 years ago

   I used to LOVE politics. In college, I was treasurer and later, president of the College Republicans. We used to invite in speakers, attend CPAC, have heated discussions, etc...
   
   Then I looked at some of the more recent elections and realized that politics has become the same as celebrity-ism in America. It's all just a popularity contest and the whole thing just feels rigged to ensure that nothing ever changes. Perhaps I'm just young (24) and I don't have the patience for the type of "change" that the political system can offer but I've begun to feel like my voice doesn't matter and the only one that does is the collective voice of America, which is a LARGELY uneducated one, willing to follow the glitz and glam rather than look for SUBSTANCE (regardless of party lines).
   
   It's EASY to become apathetic, especially when the outcome of a given race is a foregone conclusion...in the last Mayoral race in Buffalo, there wasn't even an opposing candidate!
   
   Anybody else ever feel the same?

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      Richieb799posted 15 years agoin reply to this

      my uncle's a counseller and was in the welsh political party, he said 'politics seems like an excuse not to get things done'.

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      Ron Montgomeryposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      It's hard not to feel that way at times, mostly because so much of what you say is true.  It's nothing new, but your relatively young age may make it seem that way.  Almost all of us agree that many major changes are needed, but the type of change we seek is usually offset by someone strongly advocating an opposite kind of change.  One way to re-fuel your optimism is by working for the changes that are within your power to influence.  You can't say anything that will drastically change things in Washington, but you can have a major influence on your block or building.  You will find in time, that the ripple effects of your efforts reach people beyond your current sphere of influence.
      
      Or you can just get drunk and watch TV.

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   TheGlassSpiderposted 15 years ago

   *thought about answering....but didn't care enough*

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   TheGlassSpiderposted 15 years ago

   Seriously, though...Yes, it's easy to become apathetic. I can't help but feel the same, as though our voice doesn't count for anything.
   
   So what, we can vote...it's all rigged, that's been proven, as far as I'm concerned.
   
   So what, we can make petitions...no one reads them.
   
   So what, we can march around and make noise. All we do is provide distraction for governing officials to hide their scary actions behind.
   
   
   At least, on my worst days, that's how I feel about it. Other days I feel like the gov't is really just made up of a bunch of blithering idiots who couldn't pull off a long-term conspiracy theory if it worked on its own...I'm not sure which is worse.

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   Poppa Bluesposted 15 years ago

   Change? What change? Why do we need change?
   
   No. What we need are good, decent, and principled men and women to be stewards of the rights granted us by God and guaranteed to us in the constitution!
   
   Of course it's easy to feel apathetic when in exercising your right to petition the government with your grievances they are unresponsive as perfectly illustrated in the health care debate.
   
   Don't despair, freedom requires constant and unrelenting effort on the part of the people. Arm yourself and prepare for tyranny will not be tolerated!

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      myownworldposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Deleted
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         Ron Montgomeryposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         Unfortunately there are.  Plus there are mosquitos.

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         Poppa Bluesposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         And you too my dear sweet friend! xOx

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      Ron Montgomeryposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Some need change more than others.  People who constantly refer to firearms as the solution should seek professional help.

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         Poppa Bluesposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         You know, if YOU need change you are free to bring it upon yourself! The problem with you and the rest of your liberal progressive socialist friends is that you want YOUR change to come at the expense of OTHERS. Try working for what you want instead of acting as though you're entitled!

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            Ron Montgomeryposted 15 years agoin reply to this

            Absolutely nailed it!  Bravo sir, bravo indeed.

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   Dao Hoaposted 15 years ago

   "You know, if YOU need change you are free to bring it upon yourself! The problem with you and the rest of your liberal progressive socialist friends is that you want YOUR change to come at the expense of OTHERS. Try working for what you want instead of acting as though you're entitled!"
   
   I completely agree. Everyone should work for what he or she wants and less burden on others.

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   The10DollarMarkposted 15 years ago

   Your post seems to direct that you are from the US so that's good, 'cuz I'm about to give a very US-centered reply - one that might be totally irrelevant for another country's politics.
   
   But anyway.
   The real problem with politics is that most people only care about presidential elections. They think since the president is in charge of the country, that he has the most power to change. What they don't realize is that, since the US is SO big and so varied, any change that could benefit some people might end up hurting others. This makes any kind of change at the national level difficult.
   
   The only people who have the power to change are the smaller politicians: senators and mayors. Since they cater to a smaller crowd, it's easier for them to decide what benefits that crowd most and thus easier to make changes people will like. But with so few people even caring about senators and mayors, they don't have the amount of support needed to do much.
   
   Just think about Bush's No Child Left Behind. It was a national project to fix schools, even though each state has such drastically different school measures, performance, style, and testing. It was bound to fail. However if each state had put in their own version of NCLB, one adapted to their needs, it might have worked better.

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      Jeffrey Nealposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      @The10DollarMark, so true.
      
      The Presidential elections are pretty well useless since we haven't had a real candidate truly worthy of a positive vote in a long time. I'm not a person who just doesn't vote, but when casting the ballot for Pres. for the last several elections, it's been a vote against the other guy or a nose-holding half-assed endorsement of the candidate who maybe just a little speaks for an issue or two important to me.
      
      I pay much more attention to local elections, and I do a lot more speaking out and writing to the elected and candidates on even small issues since they are much more likely to listen and/ or have a direct effect on me personally.
      
      By the time they reach Washington, the wax in their ears makes it very difficult to hear, and no one brought Q-tips.

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   sannyasinmanposted 15 years ago

   "All that eviil needs to succeed, is that the good do nothing" - Edmund Burke

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   shazz01109posted 15 years ago

   You might feel better or more heard through local governance.  At least there, you might be able to have more of an impact, and make your voice heard.  As for national politics, I honestly believe that a serious 3rd Party might shake up the 2 Party system. But get involved in the local.

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