To people who don't care about politics and who don't vote: why, out of curiosity?
Here are the two most honest reasons I can come up with:
- It doesn’t interest me
- It’s not going to change how I live my life
In a Venn diagram of things I’m interested in and things I can control, my focus and attention are at the intersection. Politics doesn’t fit into this category for me.
In fact, at this point in my life, it’s outside the diagram altogether.
Plus, it’s kind of a circus these days.
Like most people, I see political information through the lens of the media.
The media’s incentives are to produce the most outrageous stories possible, not to provide unbiased, useful information that might actually help people understand the issues and how they are impacted.
Social media is even worse. It’s basically every person on earth with their own amateur media outlet following the same formula: shock value over real value. Not to mention a lot of it is complete BS.
I might have found this entertaining at one point in my life and it’s still good for an occasional laugh or two. But it’s not something I’m willing to invest a lot of time in right now.
I never really watched the news and I’ve recently cut way back on social media.
That’s no excuse for me to remain ignorant, but it is a turnoff.
If I cared enough about the issues at stake, I would make an effort to educate myself. I’m just not that interested in them.
Don’t get me wrong. I understand the issues we face as a nation are important. But I find it difficult to relate to them on a personal level at this point in my life.
I’m not worried about what everyone else does.
I try to focus all my energy on making my life the best it can be in whatever situation I’m in.
I know improving the healthcare system is important, but I’m more worried about the things I can do to improve my own health.
I know the economy is important, but I’m taking full responsibility for my own financial situation.
I know education is important, but I’m not going to rely on the government to make sure my future kids are well-educated.
Here’s the truth (and some people look at me like I have two heads when I say this):
I can never seem to get excited about a candidate in any election because I can’t imagine my life would be any different if the other candidate won.
This has been my feeling in every election that’s happened since I’ve been alive.
It’s even true with the most recent election. I am a brown immigrant. If anyone should be angry that Trump won, it should be me. But I’m not.
I just don’t care that much because I refuse to let the outcome of the election dictate the way I live my life.
Maybe I’m naive. Maybe this is a terrible approach. I’m not saying I’m right. This is just how I feel.
I will say this, though: I do care more now than I did 10 years ago.
The only reason for this is that the people in my life that I love and care about care and I hate to see them suffer.
My loved ones are better people than I am. They have the best interest of people they don’t even know at heart. So much that this election brought them to tears. I really admire this.
I did vote in the election. But I did it for the people in my life that I love, not for me.
They make me a better person and I might not care much about politics, but I do care about them.
First published on Quora.