Politics are something I usually avidly avoid talking about because it's such a touchy subject with many people. The majority of people are either fairly passionate about their views of politics or fairly passionate about making sure it's never brought up. It's second only to religion when it comes to hot button topics and as well it should be. However the older I get, and the more I understand about our politics, the more I honestly don't care one single bit about what goes on with politics. The political scene has warped into something even nastier and corrupt than it ever has been and I want nothing to do with it really. And here are my reasons why.
Importance In My Daily Life
When it comes to politics in general, I want you to ask yourself "What does this topic have to do with me or my family directly?" If we are honest with ourselves, nine times out of ten the answer to that question is "it has nothing to with us." That right there is a major reason why I don't really care what goes on in the world of politics. Almost nothing affects me directly. Let's take President Obama's first term since that is the freshest in everyone's memory and apply that question to most of the things that have gone on during the last four years shall we?
What has the Obama administration done during the last four years that has directly interfered or influenced my life as a whole? Gas prices have fluctuated... no that has nothing to do with the government because enforcing companies to only charge a particular amount for products is not the job of the government especially while we still operate under capitalism. Obamacare went in....well that doesn't have anything to do with me either because I have always taken that preventive measure to have health insurance. It's the smart thing to do (though I do understand the people who truly couldn't afford it that's a different story.) Hmm let's see... Repealed Don't Ask Don't Tell... well that has nothing to do with me either. The SOPA incident? Well that came the closest to affecting me just because the wording was poor but even at that not only was it stopped, but Obama said he wouldn't have a bill that ambiguous and broad be passed anyway. Unemployment Rates? Yes PLEASE tell me how it's the fault of the president because Walmart didn't hire you.
So to answer the question in short... What has the Obama administration done during the last four years that has directly interfered or influenced my life as a whole? Nothing. Several things in my life have changed for the better or the worse in these last four years but that's neither the cause or the problem of the government. That's just this sinful world we live in doing what it does. I know politicians do stuff but they aren't going out of their way to give me something for my daily life, and they aren't going out of their way to actively hinder me or take a ton of stuff away from me either; and that's just the way I like it. Do what you need to do and leave me alone to do what I need to do. In the words of Comedian Tim Wilson, "I'm kind of a Libertarian; leave my money alone and do all the heroin you wanna do. Good luck with it!"
My Vote Doesn't Actually Matter In The Long Run
How often have we heard the same line that "every vote matters?" In two words I will tell you why my vote, as well as many other people's votes across this country of ours, don't actually matter; Electoral College. The electoral college was set up in the Constitution so that large states couldn't have all the power and was instead based on the number of US senators and representatives each state has. This way California, New York, Ohio, Texas, and Florida don't have all the power. When you vote for whichever candidate you are voting for an elector to cast their vote for who is to be the president.
Now I realize I'm not fully up to speed entirely on the electoral college so there's a good chance that I'm missing something here but let's just take a step back shall we. So we have the electoral college set up so that the states with the largest population don't overrun the rest of the country. We do this by instead basing it on the number of senators and representatives each state has. Which each state has 2 senators, and the amount of representatives each state has is based on the population of the state. So we're not letting the states with the most population ultimately decide the outcome by giving the states with the most population more electoral votes to use thus ultimately deciding the outcome.... WAIT WHAT?
That's why the candidates spend so much time in places like Ohio and Florida and all these places that the media calls "swing states." It's because they have the biggest population and therefore the biggest amount of electoral votes to give thus completely invalidating the reason this was set up to begin with.
On top of that when you vote for whatever candidate, you aren't actually voting for that candidate at all. You are voting for elector within your state to hopefully vote for the candidate you wanted. Why do i say hopefully? Because with the exception of a couple states, there is no law saying that the elector has to vote for what his state voted for on the majority. They can go rogue and there's nothing we can do about it. Also, most states have a "majority takes all" approach which hurts any 3rd party candidates from ever being able to do anything. If a 3rd party candidate got 20% of the popular vote then they SHOULD get 20% of the electoral vote from the state but that's not the case. Majority takes all.
I live in Tennessee which is never a swing state and doesn't have a large enough population to matter in the electoral college therefore if I choose to vote or if I choose not to vote it doesn't matter in the long run because I don't happen to live in a state with a high population density. Also, based on the fact that Tennessee is one of the places where majority takes all, a vote for a 3rd party candidate is a wasted vote because the way this country's split mentality is, a 3rd party candidate especially under this electoral college system will probably never have a real chance of winning or at least not during our lifetimes.
Turning Normally Intelligent People Into Crazies
I know politics is a touchy subject but for the love of all things good in this world, people need to calm down. I unfortunately happened to get on Facebook not long after it was called that Obama won the election. I was shocked at the amount of prophets, haters, poitical authorities, and immature adults that came rushing out of the darkness. Many of these people I respect highly or are very good friends with. It's one thing to be disappointed or proud of the outcome. It's another thing to shove people's noses in your victory or start prophesying that the end is nigh because the evil one has retained another four years to dominate and destroy our country! Give me a break!
Just reading some of the things out there I was honestly appalled by some of the statements being made. Do I necessarily like Obama? Not really. Do I necessarily like Romney? Not really. Neither of them are what I would consider amazing pillars of godliness and good judgment, but I wouldn't consider either of them Satan incarnate either. They'd both do a heck of a lot better job than I would at it that's for sure! I know a lot of things can happen in four years but I highly doubt the destruction of the United States from within is one of those outcomes.
And that's the problem with politics as a whole. You can talk to most of these individuals about how you dislike a certain food or a certain movie and they will either agree or agree to disagree and move on like a rational adult. The second you start disagreeing with politics you better bring your baseball bat cause it's about to get ugly in here. I don't have time for that sort of foolishness and neither should you. Agree to disagree and move on.
We all should strive to be like my friend Josh who posted this on Facebook after the election was called. "Congratulations, Mr. President. You have my prayers and respect. Even if one didn't vote for him, he still is a child of God and made in His image. Therefore he is of sacred worth and both his God and humanity gives him that respect. God bless you, sir; and, all those who went to vote regardless who for. God bless America."
God is in control
Speaking of God, right here we have the big #1. It doesn't matter what resulted from this election at all. God is still God and He is in control. God knew who would win this Presidential race. He knows who will win the next 30 Presidential races provided Jesus doesn't return before then. Politics change absolutely nothing about the Bible. The Great Commission is still there for us to follow, God's word is still true, and He is still with us to guide us through anything and everything the world can throw at us. Why would I bother worrying about politics when this world is not my home?
For those that say the re-election of Obama will cause the end of the world. I, as a Christian, say GO FOR IT! One of the prerequisites of the end times is that all of the world will be reached with the gospel, so if Obama has a plan to reach the 2,000+ people groups around the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ then I hope he gets a move on so that others can know the saving knowledge of Jesus. The end of the world holds no fear for me because I have been saved by the blood of Jesus Christ and will be safe in his presence one day. I have no interest in the politics of this world, but instead am interested in the teachings of Heaven.
So, that's the reason why I honestly don't care about politics. Very little is actually involving me, due to where I live my vote doesn't really matter, I don't want to deal with crazies, and in the end the Kingdom of Heaven is far more important than any Kingdom on Earth. I'm sure there are people out there who will disagree with me on many aspects and I'm also sure I will probably be misinformed on certain things but this is just my opinion and thought process. I'll be seeing you all in four years so we can re-create the havoc, meyham, and arbitrary silliness that happened this year.
Wes
Well said Wes. I agree!
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