When asked what I think the biggest problem in this country is, I immediately tell people that we have a massive politics problem. It makes total sense. What kind of division do we have here? Political. What kind of hate do we mostly have here? Political. Does politics tie itself to all the other problems we have? Yes in most cases. So, we’ve identified the problem, which means we can work on a solution. We’ve got to go broad on this one, not narrow.
Hate the problem itself, but nothing underneath it
What if we went ahead and removed political parties, ideologies, groups/organizations, and labels? Poof. Gone. Now, how do we know who to hate? What side are we on?
If politics is the problem, then these things are apparatuses at its disposal. The thing is, I didn’t create any of these. Why do I have to believe in any of them? It’s so simple. These political parties, ideologies, groups/organizations, and labels are designed to have our beliefs stick to them. In turn, the beliefs choose the information for people, not the individual. That is why “political beliefs” are the two most dangerous words to humanity. These are mere symptoms of politics, but nothing to be hated. They are thought prisons, nothing more.
Then there are the people. I can’t hate anybody, because I understand what politics does to them. I can be disappointed that people let themselves be so infected by this disease called politics, but I never hate them. It’s so sad to see people so infected, that if politics was a hard drug like heroin, we would be seeing people dead in gas station bathrooms all over the place. Or at least slumped behind the steering wheel of an old car that barely runs behind an abandoned building somewhere.
I want you to think of what or who you hate the most in politics. Multiply that level of hate by 10,000 and what you have is how much I hate politics itself, but nothing underneath it. Everything else underneath it (political parties, ideologies, etc.) is just the tools it uses to get to the people, whom I want to love. Make no mistake about it, we’re all victims of this in some way shape, or form.
Do politics on our own terms, not that of others
Since I didn’t create any of the political parties, ideologies, groups/organizations, or labels, they don’t exist to me. Why should I be something I did not create? No point. So how do I deal with politics?
I go from person to person. There are 330,000,000 people in the US and I am only one. So by population, my political opinion is worth 0.000000003 rounded. That is roughly 3 billionths of a percentage. That is way too small for me to be correct about anything. Considering the odds that somebody will be able to add to the conversation or provide a whole different perspective altogether are astronomically high.
So whenever politics is brought up, I listen to the person but realize they have the same mathematical weight as me. This immediately shifts my thinking to “what is the next person going to think?” because the next perspective resides in the next person no matter their place on the political spectrum. The chances are very high that they picked up on information that I haven’t yet.
Build the internal knowledge base
If this is my focus, then being part of political parties, ideologies, groups/organizations, or labels makes no sense. I’m always on the lookout for the next thing and my beliefs are not tied to anything. In fact, all my opinions are set to a default “under construction” format. There is no harm in viewing any topic, in ten, twenty, or a thousand different ways. Just keep adding perspectives and move on to the next and never stop. Build out a knowledge base internally instead of letting others steer the beliefs.
As an added plus, since each individual is very small in political opinion, nobody pisses me off. People are simply too small. Since adopting this technique, my mental health is in a good place. Because let’s face it, politics isn’t fruits and veggies for mental healthies. It’s a quadruple quarter-pound cheeseburger with whole sticks of butter between the patties and it’s been dipped in ranch. I just have to make politics work for me, not vice versa.