I keep telling people things like this. We always vote like these problems are because of one specific political party or political philosophy, but these problems are happening around the world, all at the same time, in countries with wildly diverse politics and histories and economics. It has little to do with the specific politics, at least not within the range of choices available to us. It is not the government we choose or have chosen that is the problem, it is the people, who are being beaten down by brutal economics, by an overwhelming wealth gap, by social media and traditional media relentlessly battering points of view into our faces. We are causing these problems, we are creating them, and we are enabling them. We are becoming the problem, because we are being made into the problem. Governments do have some responsibility to address this, but so do we. And we can’t trust the government to act on it, so we must. We must become political. We must not be afraid to speak up and speak out. We must be willing to put in the work, to do the leg work, to do the research, and sometimes just to show up. Even just to do the bare minimum is sometimes enough, when so often we choose to do nothing, not even the bare minimum. Learn what’s happening, form your opinion, and say your piece. It is your right, but also your duty.
I’m not going to tell anyone how to vote, but I am going to tell you that you are ultimately responsible for the media you consume, and that you contribute. Angry rhetoric typically leads down a deadly path. Reject it. Embrace honesty and kindness whenever possible, if you are trapped in this flood of disinformation and you don’t know what point of view is true anymore, don’t reject them all, and certainly don’t just pick one, instead try your best to thoughtfully consider them all, weigh their importance yourself, and try to take the emotion out of the analysis. Especially negative emotions like fear and anger. They’re what are being used to manipulate you.
I keep telling people things like this. We always vote like these problems are because of one specific political party or political philosophy, but these problems are happening around the world, all at the same time, in countries with wildly diverse politics and histories and economics. It has little to do with the specific politics, at least not within the range of choices available to us. It is not the government we choose or have chosen that is the problem, it is the people, who are being beaten down by brutal economics, by an overwhelming wealth gap, by social media and traditional media relentlessly battering points of view into our faces. We are causing these problems, we are creating them, and we are enabling them. We are becoming the problem, because we are being made into the problem. Governments do have some responsibility to address this, but so do we. And we can’t trust the government to act on it, so we must. We must become political. We must not be afraid to speak up and speak out. We must be willing to put in the work, to do the leg work, to do the research, and sometimes just to show up. Even just to do the bare minimum is sometimes enough, when so often we choose to do nothing, not even the bare minimum. Learn what’s happening, form your opinion, and say your piece. It is your right, but also your duty.
I’m not going to tell anyone how to vote, but I am going to tell you that you are ultimately responsible for the media you consume, and that you contribute. Angry rhetoric typically leads down a deadly path. Reject it. Embrace honesty and kindness whenever possible, if you are trapped in this flood of disinformation and you don’t know what point of view is true anymore, don’t reject them all, and certainly don’t just pick one, instead try your best to thoughtfully consider them all, weigh their importance yourself, and try to take the emotion out of the analysis. Especially negative emotions like fear and anger. They’re what are being used to manipulate you.