# How to be more politically conscious??? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 11, 2015, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-be-more-politically-conscious/714739 "2015-03-11T02:28:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Robert163](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-be-more-politically-conscious/714739/21 "2015-03-12T00:27:45Z")
> [@Lemmytheseal2](#): > > Nobody can do everything, but everyone can do something. True cliché, there. > > Now, specifically, I know exactly what you’re talking about. I deal with it very frequently. How can we battle neoliberalism most effectively (the corporate overlords and such) when our own societies are often slipping into reaction? I didn’t see that coming, really. All the momentum seemed to be with “us” from the late 90s until shortly after the 11 September attacks. The ensuing war was not the only factor, but it had a lot to do with it. > > One answer lies in prefigurative politics, i.e. becoming the change you want to see in the world, living your values, and such. In other words, all the issues you care about are present even when they aren’t the primary focus. So, when I was at Occupy DC, although our primary objective was (as it happened) to engineer ongoing publicity stunts to call attention to corruption and collusion between capitalism and the state, we also spent an enormous amount of time and energy on trying to avoid/fight racism/sexism/homophobia/transphobia/ableism/ageism/classism and so much else both internally and externally. If such a movement achieves progress in its primary mission while also adhering to its principles in all other ways, _then those related ideals will progress as well_. There are too many examples of revolutionary movements being hobbled by serious social ills, unfortunately. > > Look at much of Latin America in the past fifteen years or so. Social movements (workers, students, peasants, women, LGBTQ, indigenous people, etc.) allied together and were often able to take power. Even if the change in government brought about only some of the changes that the movements wanted, the fact is that they were able to wage war on poverty and inequality, and otherwise bring about changes that would have been impossible back when almost any movement towards justice would bring about shrieks of “COMMUNISM!!!” and an extremely violent response. Look at the way that Greek (and perhaps Spanish) social movements have reacted to the very ugly consequences of neoliberalism in their countries. Why not elsewhere? What’s stopping us? Hell, it used to be that even conservatives like Eisenhower and Nixon dismissed neoliberal ideas of welfare for the rich and free markets for everyone else! Things changed around 1980. > > You know what else is a hopeful sign? The imperialist USSR is gone, and thus no longer ruining things (directly or indirectly) for otherwise positive movements worldwide. > > Organize! Solidarity! Start somewhere. sorry for my blunt response above… i kind of get into critical response mode sometimes… i am impressed with your answer, it was a good explanation and it is good to see that you were involved with Occupy ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-be-more-politically-conscious/714739/22 "2015-03-12T01:13:29Z")
> [@Robert163](#): > > Noam Chomsky, whether you are agree with or disagree about his opinions, frequently brings up one thing that I think all people can agree on. The ills of society and our government are made possible because people don’t speak out. I disagree. As time has progressed, the government, its agents, and their actions have become increasingly visible to the public and the public opinion has increasingly controlled government choices. I won’t say that this is a bad thing, but I would say that today’s ills are largely a _result_ of this fact rather than a possible cure. Fundamentally, people don’t have the time, resources, nor (in the majority) the intellect to govern well. People generally vote selfishly. They treat politics the same as they treat sports, rooting for their team and booing the other team. The recent thing with the Republican party trying to shoot down the Federal branch’s deal with Iran, probably to the detriment of the country, is something that is necessitated by modern day politics where the voting history of politicians is so public that they simply can’t compromise or endorse anything that the other party does, such that they’ll actively try to cripple it, regardless of whether the idea is any good or not. If they did otherwise, they would lose the support of their constituents. The move towards populist interference has crippled government sanity, cooperation, collaboration, and the ability to compromise (aka trade horses). As individuals, the public is great. As a body, the public is a 6’5", 300lb moron with a club looming over the heads of government officials. That said, if you were to talk about the ills of society back before all of this, say in pre-Watergate era, then you would see a whole bunch of issues caused by politicians stuffing their pockets, ignoring the needs of their constituents, playing fast and loose with the law, etc. So I’m not saying that the beforeland was a better place, just that the source of its ills was different than ours. Personally, I would vote that what is needed is: 1. The electorate votes for individuals whom they trust to be intelligent and reasonable people, without ever once asking what that individual’s political leanings or ideas are. 2. Cap the number of terms that a person can hold office, so that they can’t get too cynical and corrupt. 3. After that, be happy and leave governing to the people who you vetted and decided had the capacity to consider all sides, dive into the data, work with others, and make as reasonable a decision as possible. ---
**Author:** ![Robert163](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-be-more-politically-conscious/714739/23 "2015-03-12T01:31:19Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > I disagree. > > As time has progressed, the government, its agents, and their actions have become increasingly visible to the public and the public opinion has increasingly controlled government choices. I won’t say that this is a bad thing, but I would say that today’s ills are largely a _result_ of this fact rather than a possible cure. > > Fundamentally, people don’t have the time, resources, nor (in the majority) the intellect to govern well. People generally vote selfishly. They treat politics the same as they treat sports, rooting for their team and booing the other team. The recent thing with the Republican party trying to shoot down the Federal branch’s deal with Iran, probably to the detriment of the country, is something that is necessitated by modern day politics where the voting history of politicians is so public that they simply can’t compromise or endorse anything that the other party does, such that they’ll actively try to cripple it, regardless of whether the idea is any good or not. If they did otherwise, they would lose the support of their constituents. The move towards populist interference has crippled government sanity, cooperation, collaboration, and the ability to compromise (aka trade horses). As individuals, the public is great. As a body, the public is a 6’5", 300lb moron with a club looming over the heads of government officials. > > That said, if you were to talk about the ills of society back before all of this, say in pre-Watergate era, then you would see a whole bunch of issues caused by politicians stuffing their pockets, ignoring the needs of their constituents, playing fast and loose with the law, etc. So I’m not saying that the beforeland was a better place, just that the source of its ills was different than ours. > > Personally, I would vote that what is needed is: > > 1. The electorate votes for individuals whom they trust to be intelligent and reasonable people, without ever once asking what that individual’s political leanings or ideas are. > 2. Cap the number of terms that a person can hold office, so that they can’t get too cynical and corrupt. > 3. After that, be happy and leave governing to the people who you vetted and decided had the capacity to consider all sides, dive into the data, work with others, and make as reasonable a decision as possible. OK, good analysis, can I ask you to check another thought I have? It is my opinion that conservative politics are detrimental they are simply trying to halt progress, to delay the inevitable. I’m not saying they have to agree to every change that comes along, but that the default reaction to resist any and all social or political progress is unreasonable. But, am I being too biased? To quickly back up my point, everything on this list, or, almost all of them, I would assume conservatives tried to block. And this is just a list of workplace issues, it doesn’t include civil rights issues: 36 reasons you should thank a Union [http://www.unionplus.org/about/labor-unions/36-reasons-thank-union](http://www.unionplus.org/about/labor-unions/36-reasons-thank-union) Weekends without work All breaks at work, including your lunch breaks Paid vacation Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Sick leave Social Security Minimum wage Civil Rights Act/Title VII - prohibits employer discrimination 8-hour work day Overtime pay Child labor laws Occupational Safety & Health Act (OSHA) 40-hour work week Workers’ compensation (workers’ comp) Unemployment insurance Pensions Workplace safety standards and regulations Employer health care insurance Collective bargaining rights for employees Wrongful termination laws Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) Whistleblower protection laws Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA) - prohibits employers from using a lie detector test on an employee Veteran’s Employment and Training Services (VETS) Compensation increases and evaluations (i.e. raises) Sexual harassment laws Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) Holiday pay Employer dental, life, and vision insurance Privacy rights Pregnancy and parental leave Military leave The right to strike Public education for children Equal Pay Acts of 1963 & 2011 - requires employers pay men and women equally for the same amount of work Laws ending sweatshops in the United States ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-be-more-politically-conscious/714739/24 "2015-03-12T01:52:31Z")
> [@Robert163](#): > > 36 reasons you should thank a Union I wouldn’t necessarily thank the unions for those laws. If I was a legislator, I wouldn’t give a damn whether a thousand teenagers and hippies are standing out in the square telling me to Save the Rain Forest, since they’re a group of idiots. Now if a lobby group (which includes unions) sends a representative to me, provides me with a list of things that they would like to see changed, studies that they think support their suggestions, etc. then I would review that information and decide which parts made sense, which didn’t, and legislate appropriately. But none of that would be due to pressure, by the union, by a lobby, by protestors, or anyone else. It all just comes down to what actually makes sense. And while I personally wouldn’t vote against something just because its adherents had antagonized me, I could see some legislators do so. So it’s plausible that pushy organizations actually work against themselves, in some cases. I would also keep tabs on what people are concerned about just by reading the news, having my staff review letters that had come in, trying to review statistics about various things, and so on. As a legislator, I’m not an idiot. I can go forth, introduce law, and fight for it based on what seems right and makes sense. No one needs to, nor should be, trying to force my hand. If they weren’t coming to me to tell me what concerned them, I’d be going out and asking people. Certainly the public is necessary, since everything that the government does is for the public good. If legislators had no source of knowledge about what is going on in the public, they would have nothing to do. But outside of knowledge sharing, there’s not much more that the public needs to do. As said, you just need to trust that the politicians are doing what they were hired to do, and that if they come to a different conclusion than you, that they did so because they have more knowledge than you do. And, the fact that those 36 laws were passed is thanks to the politicians who listened and voted for those 36 things. Whether the union helped (e.g., by carrying the message to the legislators) or hindered (e.g., by being annoying or beligerent), I really couldn’t say. ---
**Author:** ![Robert163](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-be-more-politically-conscious/714739/25 "2015-03-12T02:01:54Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > I wouldn’t necessarily thank the unions for those laws. > > If I was a legislator, I wouldn’t give a damn whether a thousand teenagers and hippies are standing out in the square telling me to Save the Rain Forest, since they’re a group of idiots. Now if a lobby group (which includes unions) sends a representative to me, provides me with a list of things that they would like to see changed, studies that they think support their suggestions, etc. then I would review that information and decide which parts made sense, which didn’t, and legislate appropriately. But none of that would be due to pressure, by the union, by a lobby, by protestors, or anyone else. It all just comes down to what actually makes sense. And while I personally wouldn’t vote against something just because its adherents had antagonized me, I could see some legislators do so. So it’s plausible that pushy organizations actually work against themselves, in some cases. > > I would also keep tabs on what people are concerned about just by reading the news, having my staff review letters that had come in, trying to review statistics about various things, and so on. As a legislator, I’m not an idiot. I can go forth, introduce law, and fight for it based on what seems right and makes sense. No one needs to, nor should be, trying to force my hand. If they weren’t coming to me to tell me what concerned them, I’d be going out and asking people. > > Certainly the public is necessary, since everything that the government does is for the public good. If legislators had no source of knowledge about what is going on in the public, they would have nothing to do. But outside of knowledge sharing, there’s not much more that the public needs to do. As said, you just need to trust that the politicians are doing what they were hired to do, and that if they come to a different conclusion than you, that they did so because they have more knowledge than you do. > > And, the fact that those 36 laws were passed is thanks to the politicians who listened and voted for those 36 things. Whether the union helped (e.g., by carrying the message to the legislators) or hindered (e.g., by being annoying or beligerent), I really couldn’t say. OK, another good explanation. Forget for the moment those were complied by a Union. I was just referencing my source, sorry if I didn’t make that clear. My point is that conservative politics in the present and in the past, trys to block progress. The only delay the inevitable and are in that sense, obstructionists. But I am biased. What is your opinion of my statements? ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-be-more-politically-conscious/714739/26 "2015-03-12T02:15:10Z")
> [@Robert163](#): > > OK, another good explanation. Forget for the moment those were complied by a Union. I was just referencing my source, sorry if I didn’t make that clear. My point is that conservative politics in the present and in the past, trys to block progress. The only delay the inevitable and are in that sense, obstructionists. But I am biased. What is your opinion of my statements? I would agree that resisting change, simply for the sake of resisting change, is bad. But I would also say that categorizing (modern) Republican thought in those lines is eitehr being intellectually dishonest or blaming the government for what is actually the fault of the public. I think it may have been on XKCD, but I saw a graphic showing how far _ahead_ of public opinion the government was on various social issues, black rights, womens rights, etc. and how that has shrunk over the last several decades. Behind closed doors, I’d bet that the politics of the Republican representatives is a lot different than their constituents, simply because the representatives are generally going to be smarter (having risen through the ranks to the level of important they are at) and have been required to talk to more experts on various topics. So while an eldery man, who is horrified at the thought of gay marriage, is opposing this change in policy because he’s afraid of change, the politician who represents him is forced to go along with it because otherwise he won’t be re-elected. ETA: [xkcd: Marriage](http://xkcd.com/1431/) ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-be-more-politically-conscious/714739/27 "2015-03-12T02:19:32Z")
I don’t think it’s any simpler than this: We have it good, so most people have more interesting and fun things to do than follow politics. We also have a system where the losers aren’t punished for losing and the winners don’t gain big from winning. Sure, at the top of the economic spectrum there’s some of that going on, which is one reason the rich pay more attention to politics than the poor(it actually does directly hit their bottom line), but the middle class and poor don’t usually see big changes from national politics. Both parties want to cut our taxes, SS and Medicare and the basic social safety net aren’t going away. Think about the biggest issue of our time affecting the middle class, where a change in party will have significant consequences, and you’ll see why we’re apathetic. That being said, it does seem to me that we’re more involved now than we were pre-9/11. 9/11 got a lot of people interested in politics, which shouldn’t be surprising given what a shot to the gut that event was for most Americans. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-be-more-politically-conscious/714739/28 "2015-03-12T02:31:01Z")
> [@Robert163](#): > > ok, but isint spreading political capital among too many topics a problem? Do you mean in terms of personal involvement? In my first post, I said, volunteer a little. Don’t spread yourself too thin or get involved in more than you’re comfortable with. (Do you mean in terms of fundraising and campaign finance?) > [@](#): > > I only vote so that people can’t accuse me of not voting. To think that the corporate overlords are going to allow anyone they dont like to be elected is absurd. Unless you have billions of dollars to back a third party candidate you are never going to make a difference. Well, I won’t hammer on this any longer, but I quite disagree. I believe our votes and our voices matter a lot, that we are heard, and that We, The People, are still sovereign. The corporations are hugely influential, but they aren’t truly our “overlords.” (I would agree that they are too influential, and that money is too much a factor in U.S. politics. But I also think that’s partly our own damn fault, because we let political advertising sway us so readily.) ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-be-more-politically-conscious/714739/29 "2015-03-12T02:40:50Z")
Wish there was a “like” button for posts, because that was extremely well said. Not every politician is run by special interests, and the fact that so many of us rely on ads rather than research to decide how to vote is what gives big donors their power. ---
**Author:** ![Robert163](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-be-more-politically-conscious/714739/30 "2015-03-12T04:21:33Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > I would agree that resisting change, simply for the sake of resisting change, is bad. But I would also say that categorizing (modern) Republican thought in those lines is eitehr being intellectually dishonest or blaming the government for what is actually the fault of the public. I think it may have been on XKCD, but I saw a graphic showing how far _ahead_ of public opinion the government was on various social issues, black rights, womens rights, etc. and how that has shrunk over the last several decades. > > Behind closed doors, I’d bet that the politics of the Republican representatives is a lot different than their constituents, simply because the representatives are generally going to be smarter (having risen through the ranks to the level of important they are at) and have been required to talk to more experts on various topics. So while an eldery man, who is horrified at the thought of gay marriage, is opposing this change in policy because he’s afraid of change, the politician who represents him is forced to go along with it because otherwise he won’t be re-elected. > > ETA: [xkcd: Marriage](http://xkcd.com/1431/) Well you certainly have made a very good explanation of the modern 2 party system and how the will of the public forces them to extreme positions. Thanks for taking the time to explain it all. ---
**Author:** ![Robert163](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-be-more-politically-conscious/714739/31 "2015-03-12T04:24:45Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Do you mean in terms of personal involvement? In my first post, I said, volunteer a little. Don’t spread yourself too thin or get involved in more than you’re comfortable with. > > (Do you mean in terms of fundraising and campaign finance?) > > Well, I won’t hammer on this any longer, but I quite disagree. I believe our votes and our voices matter a lot, that we are heard, and that We, The People, are still sovereign. The corporations are hugely influential, but they aren’t truly our “overlords.” > > (I would agree that they are too influential, and that money is too much a factor in U.S. politics. But I also think that’s partly our own damn fault, because we let political advertising sway us so readily.) Hey, thanks for chatting with me! What I meant by splitting up political capital is generally the Republicans are focused on 2 or 3 issues, never more than 5, and put all their efforts into those issues. Whereas with liberals it seems there is allways a list of 100 things they’d like to change. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-be-more-politically-conscious/714739/32 "2015-03-12T05:59:04Z")
> [@Robert163](#): > > Hey, thanks for chatting with me! What I meant by splitting up political capital is generally the Republicans are focused on 2 or 3 issues, never more than 5, and put all their efforts into those issues. Whereas with liberals it seems there is allways a list of 100 things they’d like to change. Grin! My cheap, snarky, self-serving thought is that conservatives have to keep it childishly simple to serve their un-educated base, while liberals are optimists who want to save the world before breakfast, and then get to work on the really difficult stuff. But, more seriously, yeah, a laser-tight focus on one particular issue does provide a kind of intensity that a much broader agenda denies. In personal terms, this suggests a choice that needs to be made, between joining a group that has only one specific goal – say, the Abortion Rights Action League – or a group that has lots of goals – the National Organization for Women. (Or, for another example, the Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, or the ACLU for a broader approach to civil rights activism.) I don’t have any advice on which way to go here. I’m a member of both NOW and ACLU, so my own practice seems to be to join the more broadly-based advocacy groups. ---
**Author:** ![davida03801](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5e925/32.png) [@davida03801](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davida03801)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-be-more-politically-conscious/714739/33 "2015-03-12T06:41:32Z")
Basically what I am seeing here is that only those who have views that match the OP are politically conscious, and cares of society and how to improve it. Anyone else who has differing opinions is not welcome to the discussion, nor are their views valid, and btw you’re stupid to boot. What an arrogant, condescending, and hateful set of posts. IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Robert163](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-be-more-politically-conscious/714739/34 "2015-03-12T06:52:37Z")
> [@davida03801](#): > > Basically what I am seeing here is that only those who have views that match the OP are politically conscious, and cares of society and how to improve it. Anyone else who has differing opinions is not welcome to the discussion, nor are their views valid, and btw you’re stupid to boot. > > What an arrogant, condescending, and hateful set of posts. IMHO. Yes I dislike conservative politics, maybe you didn’t read every post I made, it’s a long thread, maybe you haven’t, but, I admitted that I have a bias that my skew my perspective and question the validity of my opinions. I’m not sure exactly how that is supposed to be perceived as arrogant. I haven’t insulted anyone and if you don’t like my critical tone then please keep in mind this is a debate, which I have a vested interest in, nothing more sinister than that is going on. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-be-more-politically-conscious/714739/35 "2015-03-12T16:06:20Z")
> [@Robert163](#): > > Yes I dislike conservative politics, maybe you didn’t read every post I made, it’s a long thread, maybe you haven’t, but, I admitted that I have a bias that my skew my perspective and question the validity of my opinions. I’m not sure exactly how that is supposed to be perceived as arrogant. I haven’t insulted anyone and if you don’t like my critical tone then please keep in mind this is a debate, which I have a vested interest in, nothing more sinister than that is going on. Perhaps the arrogant part is attributing and giving total credit to labor unions for that laundry list above… OTOH, I haven’t read much of this thread so I could be wrong. I got turned off by the Fox reference in the third sentence. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-be-more-politically-conscious/714739/36 "2015-03-12T16:26:31Z")
Serious answer: yes _of course_ the problem is that we all live in a “no one gives a shit what _you_ think” social environment. I kind of take that for granted. People’s poorly formed political opinions as well as their largely apathetic detachment from issues and social concerns is due to the expectation of not being consulted, not to a built-in character flaw like mental laziness or whatever. A vast percent of those who _do_ hold strong political-social opinions do so because of their currency in discussions with other people who also hold no power. That’s better (IMO) but it still has a distorting effect, whereby people tend to gravitate more towards opinions they can argue well, perspectives they can present with an appearance of confident certainty, and viewpoints that will be received as interesting by others who like to discuss such things. (Hence, such discussions tend to hover around topics where people have already made up their minds. If these were people who had to make policy, whose opinions had actual direct consequences, presumably they’d spend more time discussing things they were mulling over with less certainty). ---
**Author:** ![Robert163](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-be-more-politically-conscious/714739/37 "2015-03-12T20:35:37Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > Perhaps the arrogant part is attributing and giving total credit to labor unions for that laundry list above… OTOH, I haven’t read much of this thread so I could be wrong. I got turned off by the Fox reference in the third sentence. ’ 1- i didn’t give total total credit to union, i just cited it as the source of the list 2- if you think FOX doesn’t ridicules protesters and activists, well, you know they do, and to object to that claim is somewhat skeptical in it’s own right ---
**Author:** ![Robert163](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-be-more-politically-conscious/714739/38 "2015-03-12T20:37:15Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > Serious answer: yes _of course_ the problem is that we all live in a “no one gives a shit what _you_ think” social environment. > > I kind of take that for granted. People’s poorly formed political opinions as well as their largely apathetic detachment from issues and social concerns is due to the expectation of not being consulted, not to a built-in character flaw like mental laziness or whatever. > > A vast percent of those who _do_ hold strong political-social opinions do so because of their currency in discussions with other people who also hold no power. That’s better (IMO) but it still has a distorting effect, whereby people tend to gravitate more towards opinions they can argue well, perspectives they can present with an appearance of confident certainty, and viewpoints that will be received as interesting by others who like to discuss such things. (Hence, such discussions tend to hover around topics where people have already made up their minds. If these were people who had to make policy, whose opinions had actual direct consequences, presumably they’d spend more time discussing things they were mulling over with less certainty). yes, there is a tribal part of it for sure with social acceptance and self worth built into your chosen POV ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-be-more-politically-conscious/714739/39 "2015-03-12T22:29:55Z")
Back to the OP: Are you simply looking for a chat about all things meta-political here, or are you actually seeking to learn more about how to be an effective involved citizen? Which I \*think \*is what you asked in the opening post. Focus on what you \*really \*want to talk about and you’ll keep the thread on topic and maybe we’ll all learn something from each other. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2015, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-be-more-politically-conscious/714739/40 "2015-03-15T13:27:43Z")
> [@Robert163](#): > > ok, but isint spreading political capital among too many topics a problem? So don’t. Pick the things that YOU give a shit about and work on those. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-be-more-politically-conscious/714739.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-be-more-politically-conscious/714739.md?page=3)