Over the last several weeks, I have noticed an uptick of more online content produced on current events in the media than usual. I started to wonder just how many articles one could possibly see on any given day regarding matters such as Kim Davis or Ahmed's clock. It is fairly easy to passively accept that such flavors of the week are written about so extensively and projected in so many different lights that misconstrued opinions often get in the way of our ability to independently rationalize these situations. It’s simple to convince ourselves that internalizing the opinions of others counts as independent rationalization. This is precisely the issue with the mass media. No matter how much our society attempts to openly acknowledge clear and thoughtful analysis, most of us still fall prey to the status quo. Therefore, it is truly difficult to sift through all of the (un)intentional bias. But I would like to pose a hypothetical situation of not politicizing every single thing that happens.
Politics are not as black and white as people may think. In fact, they encompass much more than Republicans and Democrats or liberals and conservatives. Yes, political parties and ideologies are considered to be of structural importance in explaining political phenomena, but the truth of the matter is that our American liberal democracy is one that promotes a certain type of political correctness—and therefore a mob mentality.
Differing opinions is what makes a country great and simultaneously corrodes personal capability to simply have no political judgment on whatever hot topic is circulating at any given time. What if I have nothing to say about Ahmed’s clock or Kim Davis? Of course that would be completely untrue, as it's almost impossible to not pass judgment on either situation. But what if I have nothing political to say about these two events?
A world without opinions and political views seems like a dystopia. However, I have come to realize that sometimes I have absolutely no desire or reason to politicize every issue. Why are we so obsessed with deconstructing certain events and attaching nuanced meanings of social justice, religion, or socioeconomic factors to them all? Living in a democratic society allows us to be this way, but I cannot wholly accept this reasoning as the sole driver behind excessive politicization of everything and everyone. There has to be something more to our innate desire to project onto others a specific political ideology regarding common social constructs such as religion or race.
The truth is that there may never be a simple answer that encompasses why humans seek to put a political spin on the world around them. It seems pretty nice to think that maybe, one day, I’ll walk out my front door and not hear a single political discussion. Sometimes, I'd like to think that I could go to class and not hear Brother Jeb shouting in front of Ballantine Hall as a slew of onlookers cheer and inject their voices. But that will most likely never happen.
While we hold some degree of personal etiquette with regards to our neighbors and friends, I can’t help but wonder what would happen if I admitted to the world that I was a white, female, Jewish registered Republican; or that I don’t particularly care about Kim Davis because in reality, she is just another trope for religious freedom that our country was founded upon. Maybe, in a perfect world, Ahmed wouldn’t be scrutinized for his homemade clock and our President does extend an invitation to the White House to attain some personal recognition for political correctness and agenda-baiting based on religion.
With this being said, you don’t have to care about my political views when you have millions of other self-made pundits out there.
