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gonzobonzo | 4 months ago
Almost no political junkie I know has changed their view on Trump over the past decade. They'll spend hours a day, sometimes hours a week, focused on him, but it ends up absolutely having no positive impact on their selves or their lives (usually a large negative impact).
Then I ask them about their local politicians, where they stand on certain issues, what their record is, what's been happening with their local government - and they have absolutely no clue. They can't even recall who was running in the previous local primary, or why they voted for who they voted for.
They're wasting countless hours on Trump and national politics because it feels good. Then they won't even spend a fraction learning about things that could actually make an important difference in their voting, because it's too boring for them. Even worse, many people will try to pass off these actions as being virtuous or being informed.
the_af|4 months ago
Politics exceeds politicians and specific partisan things. Politics shapes your life and that of your loved ones.
It's not simply about arguing online about stuff.
I'm my opinion one should be informed about local, national and world politics. Also history. What happens in the US unfortunately impacts my country (currently very directly; you are about to bail out Argentina, my country, just because Trump likes our president), so I'm paying attention.
gruez|4 months ago
What good does "paying attention" serve? Are you standing ready to send Trump a well timed tweet to get him on your side? Or maybe boycott US products? That's the problem with the 24/7 news cycle. There's "breaking news" happening all the time, and glued to your screen to stay "informed", but what does that actually do?
Moreover the OP isn't even against staying informed. He specifically points out the contrast being glued to some national issue that has no impact on his life, but isn't informed at all for any local issue that actually impacts his life.