rant:
One of the things I cannot handle right now is politics and the economy. By which I mean, they give me panic attacks. So, eating breakfast while my parents watch the morning news is a difficult exercise.
I'm embarrassed by the fact that I can't deal right now, by the fact that I'm very very scared because it's an election year.
I have to say, though, back when politics and the economy didn't freak me out, they turned me into a total misanthrope. An equal opportunity misanthrope, too. It always seems so much more complicated than people can acknowledge, and there's very little I hate more than the register with which 99% of political discussions are carried out.
I would summarize the political register as: I AM 110% RIGHT! I KNOW EVERYTHING! YOU WHO DISAGREE ARE STUPID AND DELUDED! I WILL NOT LISTEN TO ANYONE WHO DOES NOT AGREE WITH EVERY SYLLABLE THAT I SAY!
Yeah. I hate that shit. So fucking hard. And I'm not a hateful person. I mean, I can count on one hand the things that I truly hate.
And I don't understand how it is that pretty much everyone can't see that this is a stupid fucking way to live.
Also? The two party system is on my list of Top Five Stupidest Things Ever Invented.
So, right now? Politics makes me want to hide, makes me literally nauseous. Actually, politics has always made me literally nauseous.
I think McCain is too smug. Obama's running on pure charisma, which is not a thing to trust. Speaking of, I never trusted either Clinton.
If you must know? When it comes to social issues, I'm roughly liberal; when it comes to financial issues, I'm roughly conservative. But really? Fuck all the labels because they're not fucking helping us.
And, tangential, but a general philosophical issue--
Why can't people really listen to each other? This is a question that literally haunts me. People think they listen to each other, but by and large they don't. I honestly do not understand why it is so difficult for people to imagine someone else's point of view. For fuck's sake--fully acknowledging another person's humanity and personhood does not infringe on or invalidate your own! I honestly do not understand why people don't try to understand why another person holds a different opinion. Becuase guess what--people who disagree with you, will always have a reason for doing so, and that reason will be completely valid in their eyes. Guess what else--sometimes your reasons are wrong, sometimes their reasons are wrong, sometimes you both are wrong, sometimes you both are right. But! And this is the best part! Life is not a fucking competition.
And, frankly, if you don't truly understand another person's reasons, you have slim to no chance of either changing their mind or--even better--reaching a workable compromise.
The worst part is how many people *think* they're acknowledging others' personhood, how many people pay lip-service to it, but don't really get it--and don't realize that they're not getting it.
I'm embarrassed by the fact that I can't deal right now, by the fact that I'm very very scared because it's an election year.
I have to say, though, back when politics and the economy didn't freak me out, they turned me into a total misanthrope. An equal opportunity misanthrope, too. It always seems so much more complicated than people can acknowledge, and there's very little I hate more than the register with which 99% of political discussions are carried out.
I would summarize the political register as: I AM 110% RIGHT! I KNOW EVERYTHING! YOU WHO DISAGREE ARE STUPID AND DELUDED! I WILL NOT LISTEN TO ANYONE WHO DOES NOT AGREE WITH EVERY SYLLABLE THAT I SAY!
Yeah. I hate that shit. So fucking hard. And I'm not a hateful person. I mean, I can count on one hand the things that I truly hate.
And I don't understand how it is that pretty much everyone can't see that this is a stupid fucking way to live.
Also? The two party system is on my list of Top Five Stupidest Things Ever Invented.
So, right now? Politics makes me want to hide, makes me literally nauseous. Actually, politics has always made me literally nauseous.
I think McCain is too smug. Obama's running on pure charisma, which is not a thing to trust. Speaking of, I never trusted either Clinton.
If you must know? When it comes to social issues, I'm roughly liberal; when it comes to financial issues, I'm roughly conservative. But really? Fuck all the labels because they're not fucking helping us.
And, tangential, but a general philosophical issue--
Why can't people really listen to each other? This is a question that literally haunts me. People think they listen to each other, but by and large they don't. I honestly do not understand why it is so difficult for people to imagine someone else's point of view. For fuck's sake--fully acknowledging another person's humanity and personhood does not infringe on or invalidate your own! I honestly do not understand why people don't try to understand why another person holds a different opinion. Becuase guess what--people who disagree with you, will always have a reason for doing so, and that reason will be completely valid in their eyes. Guess what else--sometimes your reasons are wrong, sometimes their reasons are wrong, sometimes you both are wrong, sometimes you both are right. But! And this is the best part! Life is not a fucking competition.
And, frankly, if you don't truly understand another person's reasons, you have slim to no chance of either changing their mind or--even better--reaching a workable compromise.
The worst part is how many people *think* they're acknowledging others' personhood, how many people pay lip-service to it, but don't really get it--and don't realize that they're not getting it.