Our society has been in a constant divide in the world of politics. People always seek to find out what side you are on, are you a Democrat or Republican? Conservative or liberal? Time and time again, you attempt to answer these questions in the least-controversial way. But no matter what, someone will try to hastily draw conclusions based on what you support. Although our country claims to be founded upon the principle of freedom of speech, it seems to only be free when the people around you think the same way.
It seems that we have strayed too far from a society free from judgment based on beliefs. Our first president, George Washington, had warned us that political parties, “are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.” In other words, our society would be divided as politicians would control the people, shifting the power from citizen to government. Politicians gain our support in order to push their personal agendas, and within the last seventy years, political advertisements have shifted from catchy tunes to depressing blame-games. Someone is always horrible, and if you support them, you yourself are horrible as well.
Why has that become our dominant view of politics: pointing fingers and screaming matches? Things happen, but the only thing you can control is what you choose to do. For us, that means remaining apolitical and only looking at the news when we are actually interested. We demand so much information in this age of technology, but you need to be careful. Everything you “consume” comes at a cost, and we personally choose to carefully manage our energies for such knowledge. It is part of protecting our peace, and when we are asked for our opinions about something in the news, people may be annoyed at our neutrality. Some may call it ignorance, but we only look into what we actually care about.
In the end, we should never be forced to pick a side, never be forced to throw our total support behind important figures, and never be forced to have an opinion. Although we have the opportunity to access any knowledge we shall please, you have the power to choose. In case you are interested in finding out information, be sure to look at both sides and find credible sources. We are naturally curious, but that does not mean we will let the world of politics consume our energy.
We will not be a pawn to the game of politics, and neither should you.