Why follow politics and the news?

There is more than one way to stay reasonably well informed, although you might not know it from the U.S. media.

Back in Revolutionary War times, it two weeks for the news of the battles of Concord and Lexington to reach the capitol at the time, Philadelphia. So when you got your news, it was long over.

I personally find the drum beating relentless maw of 24/7 news very empty. Nowadays, news is so frantic for new facts, ti doesn’t even wait for them to happen. It inserts itself in the story, it relentlessly reports on reactions. Sort of a news narcissism.

Between these two extremes lies a happy medium. I like my news with a dose of analysis. To me, that argues for print news sources. Try a weekly news magazine or a good Sunday paper for your news.

Now, I do disagree with you about politics and you being able to make a difference. Your informed vote definitely makes a difference. Again, you can opt out of all of the campaign frenzy. Instead, study the records of the candidates from previous office they held. Also, review their position papers, which lay out the views they hold on certain issues, and what they will do when they are in office.

Ignorance is bliss. Until reality whaps you upside the head.

Forewarned is forearmed.

Or, to quote Dean Wormer,

“Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son.”

@IchtheosaurusRex I guess I should’ve also said anything that is actually important you will hear about anyway from personal conversations. And what type of reality(can you give an example) would whap me upside the head and what would I have done to prevent it in the first place.

I’d say funny quote but it almost comes off a bit smug. The quote is the usual response I get with no real example of why it really matters and is a bit off putting.

I’ve chosen to stop listening to a lot of news. There is no burden on anyone to listen to any type of news. I choose my news sources carefully and have them fed into my RSS feed which contains tons of blogs etc. It helps that I’m Canadian so there’s far less news in general, and I live in the capital city so I absorb a lot of local and thus relevant news through the radio.

I’ve realized a lot of news I used to listen to simply had no value. I don’t care about some sensationalist piece on whether my tap water is clean to drink, I can use my own brain and find the answer out.

Politics is a tricky one. It’s important to use your vote and to use it wisely. Then again, all politicians seem to be full of shit and say anything to get into office, so I don’t pay too much attention to them. But at the same time I don’t squander my vote, and when it comes time for elections I become active in finding information and making a wise choice. That said, I don’t need to waste my life listening to the Conservatives bitch about policy X and the Liberals bitching back, so I don’t.

In the end, I have much more time for myself and far fewer irrational baseless fears. Not having cable TV really helps a lot with this I might add.

You are half right. News is drivel.

You should not feel helpless because you are one person. You should use that vote, or even better, run for office. You (we) can and do make a difference, like we did in the last election where we removed a moron and replaced him with a man who is much better balanced and changed the direction of this country.

Never give up that power to vote. The history of man is riddled with different attempts to find equitable ways to govern himself, and this is the best way we have found so far.

You have to know that the news doesn’t try to “inform” anymore as much as it tries to “persuade”. Don’t expect to be informed from one news source either – being informed takes work.

While this is a great question and I can understand both sides of the spectrum, I’m going to go ahead and say that it is not fruitless – keeping up with politics and all.

I believe there is a benefit to reading up and understanding the various issues, at least on an intellectual (and even visceral) level. Staying informed and having an understanding of the subject are two different things – I think that there is much to gain by being able to coherently piece together why a politician does what he does, or what a new legislation is trying to accomplish, it’s pros and cons, etc. It’s a very selfish perspective, I suppose.

Do it for your mind, dude.

Because we influence policy, whether we realize it or not.

Politics is consumer driven, consumerism defines the contemporary political landscape, therefore you vote with what you choose to purchase, not in the polling booth, that is merely a perfunctory process, that is as devoid of meaning as any Ecclesiastical ritual.

I feel you have an obligation to seek out valid information through other means. If you can’t trust mainstream media for your news, look elsewhere. But if you don’t seek to be informed at all, then you deserve whatever sneaks up behind you and clobbers your skull in.

If you remain politically uninformed, you can’t participate in any meaningful sense of the word. Even your local vote can’t mean much. In that case, you deserve the miserable, theiving, lying leadership that you will no doubt get.

@pdworkin Your answer is very similar to @IchtheosaurusRex and again I’d ask the same question, can you give an actual example of something that would sneak up behind me and clobber me in the skull? Also, in your example how would the knowledge I have from watching the news save me from this fate. BTW – as I also mentioned above anything that is really important one will hear about regardless of watching the news, through conversations, small talk, etc…

It would be hard if not impossible in our day and age to remain completely politically uninformed. I do believe a local vote carries more power than a national vote. I do vote locally, but still how much affect does my vote truly have? If I live in a community with 100,000 people and the miserable, thieving, lying leadership gets 70,000 votes my 1 vote didn’t do a thing. But I do agree with @PerryDolia it’s the “best way we have found so far.”

@limeaide Ever heard Satchel Paige’s immortal advice? Don’t look back, something might be gaining on you.

@pdworkin Still looking for an actual example, do you have one? I’m not trying to be crappy just would like an actual example. Thanks!

I follow politics and the news because I have an irrational desire to be deceived and lied to. Okay, that’s not totally true. Sometimes I actually do learn something informative from the 3% of the news that is really worth hearing about.

How would I know until it happens to you? Supposing you weren’t aware of the astroturfing of town hall meetings about health care, and went to one expecting to be truly informed? Will that do as an example?

Really, don’t get involved. It leaves the rest of us counting more. And, truthfully, if you run off to the desert and put your head in the sand, how could the lack of health care reform hurt you? Eh?

@daloon so what are you actually doing that will make health care reform happen?

Example not good enough, or you choose to ignore it?

@pdworkin Well I thought the “how would I know until it happens to you?” kinda odd. Why not just give an example for anyone, yourself or anything else.

You did follow it up with an example about astroturfing which is interesting. I guess I would have to say that if it was me from my perspective if I was going to go to one of the townhall meetings that would mean I’d already have an interest in that topic or would have researched it prior to going or would have known about the townhall meeting through a news source of some sort which may or may not tip me off to the astroturfing that is going on taking us out of the original context of my question. Also, I know that you know not all news sources are reporting the astroturfing as such.

Using the original context of my question, if I decided not watch news or follow politics there would be no reason for me to be at a townhall meeting. BTW – maybe you can explain to me how going to a townhall meeting in the first place would change the outcome of what is going to happen anyway. Even if I was really vocal at one of these meetings, I don’t think it would change anything. It sometimes seems to me that all of this is meant to make it feel as though we have some power but the reality is that it’s just an illusion.

You have a vote. Use it to your best ability as generations have fought for it. By following politics and news, you honor your freedom, which you can’t take for granted. Just choose your spots and find the objective, dispassionate and best news you can find, whether online , on a blog, or a newspaper. We need you to be engaged, those who believe in democracy.

@limeaide Well, I consult with various health care reform organizations. I spent, oh, let’s see, twelve years of my life working on health care reform. As I was saying before, you should really stay out of politics and let people who know something be the only ones who have a say. Now, if only the Republicans would do the same!

@daloon It wasn’t a challenge, I was genuinely curious, maybe something I could look into ….touchy touchy….

@daloon I asked a question way the attack to begin with and why the followup attitude? Anonymity creates some crass comments sometimes.

I don’t. Anything important will filter itself through the mediums I interact with daily: friends, family, internet headlines/blogs/aggregators/memes.
Saves me time and effort. That way I’m sure only the really pressing matters surface. Plus, I get to socialize more rather than watching it on the tube or reading the paper. It becomes a topic for discussion.

@derekpaperscissors this is the method I use now. I was doing this off and on for years but once I read “The 4-hour Work Week” I’ve been doing it ever since. I was just hoping to get some other thoughts on the matter.

@limeaide Tim Ferris! :)

@limeaide , what you hear about from your friends and coworkers is always going to be filtered through their personal perceptions. You’re two-off already in that respect; they heard what they heard from a news source – maybe a good one, or maybe a shitty one. You don’t know if what you are hearing originated in the Washington Post or the National Enquirer.

What could whap you upside the head… let’s see… do you have any money in the stock market? No? Do you drive a car? Own your home? Use credit cards? Ever get sick and need to use health insurance? Maybe if none of that applies to you, you don’t need to stay informed.

@IchtheosaurusRex True, I agree with you that the news heard from friends/co-workers is going to be filtered by their perceptions. But friends/coworkers do filter the true news from the sensationalism at this point though if something would affect me I can go research the back story and get the information I need without wading through a bunch of unimportant “news” items. I never ever take someones word as gold, I fact check everything and perceive for myself. This is a very good point to bring up, thanks!

I do have money in mutual funds, index funds, etc… but day to day news does not effect my buying and selling. I’m a long term investor and buy what I believe and know about I don’t buy and sell it’s too much like playing the lottery. I may change investment mixes every 6 months to a year. I drive a car how is the news going to effect this, I don’t buy new and never will too much depriciation I’ll let someone else take that hit. I used to use credit cards, but will never again I realized I didn’t use the credit cards they used me. Debit cards that I can use like a credit card that are linked to my bank account will work just fine for me. Sure I get sick, but how is watching the news going to help me, are you saying I should rally for healthcare reform if so that’s a different story but my question was about watching the news/following politics. Are you saying I should be more involved, if so I haven’t gotten that impression from your comments? If anything watching the news depresses me something that would contribute to poor health.

Staying informed is one thing, watching the news I think may be a different story.

Thank you for your reply, I am truly grateful. I like learning from other peoples perspectives. Some of the replies have seemed a little rude to me, I can tell that people feel strongly about this topic, but I think people that are replying rudely are losing the opportunity to truly get their ideas through to those open minded enough to listen. I respect all of the views expressed here. Thanks again for your contribution!

@limeaide I am often sarcastic. In this case, it’s an attempt to goad people into seeing what an apathetic attitude does for them. If you consider yourself apathetic, I hope you understand how that disenfranchises you about things that are pretty important in your life. If this is merely a discussion starter, then, meh.

@daloon Thanks for the followup reply, I understand more fully where you stand. I would say mostly this was a discussion starter, but I’d say I’m borderline apathetic at times maybe this conversation will bolster my reserves. Thanks!

Why know what’s going on at all?

I think all of us focus on what’s important to us. For some, that’s lobbying and working for national policies, for others, it’s focusing on their family’s immediate concerns. I myself go through phases of news fasts. For the most part, I find the “news” that’s out there to be demoralizing and enervating. It leaves me less likely to take action, or to feel good about the world. So I avoid it. I look for information in ways that leaves me in action towards my goals.

That having been said, I’ve been very inspired to follow and participate in the health care reform debate. That’s partly because I work for social services, and deal with the Medicaid program – and see how many gaps there are for working poor to fall through (sorry – off topic rant). This has me reading news from various sources much more readily.

My answer would be – do what leaves you in action and feeling empowered towards what’s important to you. If reading the news or battling for/against legislation feels right, do it. If not – find what DOES!