Why I Hate Politics: A Love Poem (written in extremely bad haiku)

The P word. The thought of it makes my eyes water like someone pulling out my nose hairs with an egg beater. Politics, and its older brother, Organized Religion, are the two most lethal subjects on the planet. Without question more people have been killed in this world for what they believe (politically or theologically) than any other reason fathomable. Its a wise man who once said that "there are two things you should never talk about. Politics and Religion." If other people don't know how severely misaligned with their own beliefs you are, the less likely they are to want to want to impale your head on a spike.

But its certainly not just an aversion to conflict that gives me such disdain for politics. I watch the news on TV, read a story in the newspaper or on the Web and I marvel and the disingenuous, almost cavalier, attitude that politicians have towards their constituency. Both sides of the aisle are so tainted. They sell their snake oil to a willing cadre of sheep who bleat in support without much thought to why or what the sheep on the other side of the fence might think about it. In short, politics, like religion, is a means of dividing people up into "Us" and "Them." A simple means of propagating ideologies of intolerance while maintaining the status quo for those with the power.

It certainly isn't surprising to me that every session our Congress ineffectually stumbles from one election year to the next without really accomplishing anything. For the past 25 years, the topics that require action have been the same. The economy. Social Security. Taxes. Jobs. The National defense. Why? Are these issues intangible? Unsolvable? Difficult issues to be sure, but I suspect the worst from those in power simply because they are human after all.

There's a simple truth which I try to abide by. People believe what they want to believe. On matters of politics, you're just as likely to turn a lead bar to gold as you are to try and dissuade someone from their viewpoint. We arrive at our points of view as a function of our environment. Its wise and generous to try and aide someone whom you feel is astray in their belief. Discuss it... you may end up changing your own views, but a continual debate on issues? Push and shove, give and take. Over and over again... it seems fruitless and a terrible waste. Human interaction can be so much more fulfilling than to argue about such things. If we all spent more time trying to accept each other for what we are as opposed to trying to make everyone more like us, we might actually get somewhere in this world...

There endeth the rant. Share your thoughts, if so inclined. But don't expect a reply if you disagree with me. :-)

I'm going now to try and think of something more light-hearted to post about.