{"id":13699,"date":"2018-04-13T15:48:41","date_gmt":"2018-04-13T19:48:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mdcthereporter.com\/?p=13699"},"modified":"2020-08-28T11:51:06","modified_gmt":"2020-08-28T15:51:06","slug":"cant-turn-off-politics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/cant-turn-off-politics\/","title":{"rendered":"You Can\u2019t Turn Off Politics"},"content":{"rendered":"

A month ago, I attended a journalism conference that had journalist Lauren Duca as its closing speaker. In response to a question about covering different topics unrelated to politics, Duca responded with an affirmation: \u201cYou can\u2019t not care about politics anymore.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Hearing her vocalize a belief I\u2019ve held for as long as I can remember hit me. I\u2019ve followed politics as far back as the 2008 presidential election, one where I made the mindless decision to ask a priest who he voted for (he didn\u2019t answer). Since then I\u2019ve followed every race I can: local, state and federal. To me, it was important. To others, I realized soon after, it was boring.<\/span><\/p>\n

That somewhat changed during the 2016 presidential cycle. Seeing the bombastic, pompous Donald J. Trump\u2014the same Trump I grew up with, the one with the television show, the richest person I could think of\u2014begin a campaign for president with wild, baseless statements on immigrants immediately made heads perk up and laugh.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, as the cycle went on (and on, and on and still going), people around me began to realize the effects a Trump or Hillary Clinton presidency might have on their lives. Whether it was my Republican friends energized about ending Obama-era spending or Democratic friends angry about Trump\u2019s xenophobic and misogynistic remarks, one thing stood out to me\u2014people I knew were finally starting to care about politics. With protests following the election and the Women\u2019s March after the inauguration, it felt confirmed.<\/span><\/p>\n

But, that confirmation quickly subsided. Once it became apparent that the news would never end during the Trump administration, I noticed those same friends getting complacent. \u201cThere\u2019s too much to keep up with,\u201d they said. \u201cIt\u2019s all too depressing.\u201d I hated hearing it because I saw what happened when people cared about politics<\/span>\u2014<\/span>they made their voices heard.<\/span><\/p>\n

Political engagement isn\u2019t something that can be turned off. The thing about politics is that when people look away, the lawmakers they put in charge are left unsupervised. That\u2019s how we\u2019re left with multiple efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act or perpetual limbo with gun control and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals<\/span><\/a>. It can be depressing, but a lot of things that affect our lives are. It\u2019s the nature of the beast<\/span>\u2014<\/span>one that can be tedious to tame.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s not to say that there isn\u2019t any engagement. March for Our Lives, an organization founded by survivors of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting<\/span><\/a>, has made immense noise for its continued call for action against gun violence, and the necessity of voting. \u00a0They use sing Twitter and Instagram to engage with their followers. On the conservative end, organizations like Turning Point USA engage with students on college campuses by helping them become more active through their political views. To his credit, President Trump is able to broaden his reach through his frequent tweets, letting people give more thought to his words even if their only exposure are his postings.<\/span><\/p>\n

You can\u2019t choose not to learn math or science in school simply because you don\u2019t like it. The same should be true of politics, as it has the most chance of affecting your life. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A month ago, I attended a journalism conference that had journalist Lauren Duca as its closing speaker. In response to a question about covering different topics unrelated to politics, Duca responded with an affirmation: \u201cYou can\u2019t not care about politics anymore.\u201d Hearing her vocalize a belief I\u2019ve held for as long as I can remember […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":466,"featured_media":9011,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[75,1524],"class_list":{"0":"post-13699","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-forum","8":"tag-politics","9":"tag-government"},"yoast_head":"\nYou Can\u2019t Turn Off Politics<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Corbin Bolies writes about the necessity of being engaged in politics and the importance of being aware of the news around you\u2014no matter how bad it may be.\" \/>\n<meta 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