"Why does everything have to get political?" Because... everything we do... is a political act.

People are tired of politics and I understand the sentiment, but... I also feel it's a bit of a cop out - a cop out by the last few generations of Americans most of whom have been apathetically copping out for some time. Not copping out (what used to be called doing your civic duty) requires taking a bit of a stand, and these days, it pretty much means alienating half the people you know. It is uncomfortable - I get that people would just rather not be bothered, but it's also the price to be paid for living in a democracy. Has it always been this ugly? No, it hasn't always been this naked and this raw, but it's always been there simmering under the surface.

Because things are so raw, it's probably a good idea to make it known where you stand. Most people seem to think that the stakes are really high politically these days, and I agree so... now would seem the time to make it perfectly clear what you're in favor of and what you oppose. Sitting it out doesn't really help anybody. We all have convictions. Trying to keep your head down hardly empowers your own ideas and can only embolden all sorts of philosophical principles that you may find dangerous - when reasonable people cede the field to extremists... the extremists essentially win and are in charge, and we've been doing that for a while. And if things are as dire as they seem, being politically agnostic only hastens less discussion and a greater crisis, no matter where you sit on the political spectrum.

I think one of the reasons people are so careful, and even fearful, of expressing their politics is precisely because the stakes are so high. Liberals are immediately deemed communists and conservatives fascists when, in the main, neither is true of most people within those blocks. In fact there is a lot going on politically these days and it's a lot more mixed up then I think people realize. To get into this and try to elucidate the point, I'm going to have out myself politically, but if you've ever seen my stuff on Twitter, and I'm not hard to find (https://twitter.com/DavePainchaud), then you already probably have a pretty good idea where I'm at.

The truth is I'm pretty hard to the left, but I remain an independent and could never be a Democrat. The Democrats tend to squabble amongst themselves at key moments when they could actually accomplish something and never seem nearly as committed to their goals as those on the right. To me, that's totally disqualifying as an organization - I'm not joining a group of incompetents. They can have my vote but that doesn't mean they get my approbation or membership. They do get things generally correct from a philosophical point of view, but are far too quick to compromise with their opponents who frequently take them as suckers and never seem to make an argument in good faith. I'm hardly alone in this - plenty of people on the left feel the Democrats have failed them and even failed the rest of the Democrats. You can count me among them. It's also true, however, that I have conservative friends who feel that the GOP is not the party of which they used to be a part - it's gone into a deeply paranoid, nativist/nationalist zone. It's almost as if we have four parties at this point - the ultra right wing as exemplified by the current GOP, conservatives who feel they have no place in either party, the Democrats (a fairly center-left thing) and a then a host of additional leftists who see no true political home with the Democrats.

Although I clearly have a side in all this, I'm sure I have plenty of views that those who are totally partisan on my own side don't want to hear, but... if you're totally partisan you're also probably incapable of being an honest political actor and that's another good reason to not belong to a party. At any rate, you'll often hear the argument that the parties are essentially the same - that it's all corrupt equally etc. This is one of the places where I think we lose our perspective - the two sides are remarkably different and the situation is asymmetrical at this point. If you want to argue that the if you're far enough to the left you're a communist and if you're far enough to the right you're a fascist, I wouldn't disagree with you, but I would ask you, how many out and out communists do you see on the left? Yeah, there are probably a few here and there, but they have no power. And while we're discussing extremes, let's be abundantly straight-forward and say that if you're espousing either communism or fascism you have gone completely 'round the bend and that there really shouldn't be a place for you in politics. By virtue of my leftist tendencies, I lean closer to the communists I suppose, but communism... has never worked and probably can't. You could probably argue that it's never really been tried either, as it's been co-opted by some genuinely evil regimes, but frankly I'm not sure it matters. It can't work. You see, there's thing called human nature... and we like getting ahead. So, on the left you don't see communists, the red menace, etc. Socialists? Sure! Plenty of them, but don't confuse one with the other because they are nothing alike.

Okay, let's reverse things and see where this asymmetrical aspect comes into stark relief. Is there fascism on the right? Uh... yeah! In everything but name, because the name is poison... but philosophically... is much of the GOP and the Trumpist agenda fascist? Yeah... Pretty much 100%. It's all about their tribe, the leader being incapable of making mistakes, because... he's the leader... There's a whole nationalist loyalty thing (loyalty to leaders and uniforms but never to ideas), where authoritarianism is not only encouraged, it's acceptance is a prerequisite for membership in the group, and of course all the grievance politics and the bringing in of the religious right to make that part of the con. There's a lot of purity tests on the right and in general nobody passes them forever. Relationships within the party machinery are particularly transactional there. It's very scary stuff and although the part of the left that's given up on the Democrats sees the threat, Nancy Pelosi will tell you that she wants to see "Republicans take back their party" - well, keep dreaming, Nancy.

What does any of this have to do with the title above? Well, I'll tell you. People would like to believe that they can live in a world untouched by the hand of politics - where they're decisions are essentially agnostic and can't be questioned. It's a nice idea, but more than a little foolish. It's like wanting to live in a world that doesn't have weather. Too bad. It rains. Deep down every decision we make is based upon... what we value! What we buy, where we buy it, how we feel about our neighbors, where we get our information... you name it - all of these decisions comes down to what we think is a good thing and what's really important to us and all of that is a form of cultural voting. Our values and our politics are the same thing! It's actually one of the things that keeps everything from totally falling apart - plenty of leftists end up living in predominantly right wing areas. The same goes for conservatives living in leftist congressional districts and the mixing of all this stuff - the fact that leftists sometimes have surprisingly conservative views and right wingers will occasionally go completely against the orthodoxy is good. No, it's not all one way or another and that should give us a degree of hope, but still, our choices can be seen through the prism of our values. It's inescapable and since it is... let's stop the hand-wringing about getting away from politics. You can't. Instead, be a good citizen in a marginally functioning democracy and get involved and informed.

Oops! I said it, didn't I?

Get informed! Well... good luck. Our media environment - and I call it that as journalism as it once was has long since been killed off - is one of the reasons we have this crisis of confidence in... everything, in the first place. We think everybody is lying to us all the time and we think that because a lot of the media is clearly not on the up and up, or that they're stretching things. Of course, they will do and say pretty much anything to get engagement on their online platforms. What's really ugly is that we've gotten to the point collectively wherein the most basic of facts - things we really do know have to be true - even that stuff, for the more paranoid, is suddenly just conjecture. You can blame our educational system (and a society that won't fund or value it) but you can also blame the institution of journalism, an institution that has long since given up on the idea of serving the public. Yes, I recall when journalism was a public trust and I watched it turn into purely business... where the public... was on it's own, because, "We need to make a buck around here!" Cable news is a disaster on the right and the left and print journalism isn't much better. It seems like everyone with talent has been bought off. Thankfully, you can still get a fairly straight story from the New York Times (leaning left), the Wall Street Journal (leaning right), the Washington Post (leaning left) and the wire services such as the AP and Reuters. Having confidence in the info you're getting usually still requires cross-referencing the facts, but if you do that, you can have some idea what the hell is going on.

Because trust in the media is so low, this has allowed the unaffiliated blogger to become... somebody that can, under the right circumstances, be the human with integrity! Telling it like they see it! Are these pieces more like columns and less like straight news? Yes, totally, but... considering where we're at, good columnists and political thinkers are desperately needed to inform and educate a public long since lost at sea. I've found a few since becoming a bit of a political junkie on Twitter. Politics Twitter is an amazing place - it's all out there and I've met a few folks who really know their stuff. So much of political reporting has essentially become making predictions as to what's going to happen - almost all of which are wrong, but nobody seems to be keeping score and the fear-mongering and free for all continues. But... there are some folks who get it right. And they do so repeatedly. Well, guess what, I am keeping score and I have a few recommendations for you. Read anything you can get your hands on by Joseph O'Neil (https://twitter.com/JosephONeillx). Joseph had a distinguished a career as barrister in England and then decided to become a novelist. Absolutely brilliant cat currently teaching writing at Bard College in New York. Similarly, James Gleick (https://twitter.com/JamesGleick), who I've been reading since the early 90's when his book on chaos theory was a must read (I had a few girlfriends who didn't know what to do with me at that time because I kept seeing chaos theory in everything, including a cup of coffee one morning). My last one is the columnist John Stoehr (https://twitter.com/johnastoehr) who has written for US News and World Report, the New Haven Register and is a fellow at the Yale Journalism Initiative. John has a column and blog that I highly recommend as part of your daily political intake and edification called The Editorial Board (https://www.editorialboard.com/). John gets it right more often than anybody has a right to and you may find yourself realizing he's articulating an idea that's only partially formed within your own mind. Definitely do yourself a favor and check him out.

There's no real way to escape the political moment. Right now, it's omnipresent - we really don't get to run to our silo and make believe it isn't happening. Solipsism isn't the answer, kids. Our collective issues go away faster and we're all more free and secure when we confront the real threats before us. So, let's do that... so we can have the luxury of not living in a crisis.