I was sitting with my friends this week talking about politics. Each one of them is very opinionated about their political views, so the discussion was quite heated. That was until one of my friends responded with,
“Oh I don’t keep up with politics.”
I mean, how can you be eligible to vote if you don’t know anything about what’s going on in the world today? Anything of importance in our world today typically has some association with politics. To my surprise, I found that not only is he not the only one, but he is in the majority for most millennials.
Our generation seems to be suffering from a sort of desensitization to politics. Most today look at politics as something unimportant, to be worried over by old people. However, this is not everyone, there are some who are in a small percentage who do actually share my interest for politics. But with such an uninterested generation, how does one go about getting educated in the political world? There are a few answers all of which are rather easy and simple.
1.) Watch the News
Regardless of what station you watch, it is inevitable that you will eventually come across a network with something political. Be careful however, because some news networks can be biased toward a specific party or ideology. These such news networks are actually quite common, and will more than likely only tell you a part of the truth as opposed to its entirety.
2.) Begin reading online articles.
Now since you’re here I’m guessing that you might already have this base covered. You can go to several different websites, and find tons of articles about a host of topics that you might not normally talk about in your day to day life. You can find everything from the presidential election, to political topics such as party bases, and immigration. Just take care, again, that you find a writer who will tell you both sides of the story, not just the side that they agree with.
3) Read the Newspaper.
*gasp* Sam, why would you ever even suggest something like that? I know that to many today newspapers seem like something of an oddity. Many will argue that you can get much more information about what is going on with a simple google search and to a degree they are right. You just whip your handy dandy IPhone, tap a few quick keys and presto. But that is not always the case. While this is typical for politics on a national scale, what the newspaper represents is more local. It is much easier to find out about the local politics with a newspaper than it is with a computer.
4.) Draw your own conclusions.
To many times in politics people will vote for a person simply because of their political party. Some up north might absolutely refuse to vote republican, and simply vote democrat because that’s how they’ve always voted. The reverse is also true of many down here in the south, believe me as a young conservative Christian, I’ve met a few stubborn voters. However if one is going to make a meaningful decision, they need to come to the conclusion on their own, after viewing all of the facts of the matter.
If you can do any or all of these things, then you will be well on your way to being an active member of the crazy world that is politics. Do your own research and try not to cause any fights. In the end however the biggest advantage gained, is simply to be informed as to what’s going on.
