How to Suvive Election Insanity

Every four years we get the Olympics…and a lovely election. Before we engage the season of negative attack ads, unsolicited telephone calls and former friends screaming at one another, I wanted to offer a little guidance on how to endure the election hysteria. It is easy to become discouraged, jaded, enraged or all three during the glorious political season. I have acquired the following pieces of advice through many painful past elections. It may be useful to read this article in conjunction with “Is Politics Full of Screaming Jerks?!” Hopefully you can learn from my experience. Enjoy!
 
1. Find out what issues are important to you: Based on your own values, what issues are the most crucial? The deficit? Women’s rights? The military? Healthcare? The state of the American family? Climate change? Once you can identify your passions, it is much easier to stay focused on the prize and makes the election less messy. What politician or policy helps or hurts your issues? Always strive to be educated on all matters, but at the bare minimum, be prepared to defend and advance the causes dear to you.
 
 2. Focus on policy, not personality: It is tempting to reduce the Presidency and politics in general to a competition of egos. This approach pushes people away, as the race will devolve into Douche A vs Douche B. What you need to do is research the candidates’ policy positions as much as possible. An election is not about personalities- rather it is about policies. Remember, you don’t know these politicians on a personal basis. You may be able to get a beer with the person or you may want to punch them in the face. Either way, it doesn’t matter- how will their policy positions affect you?

3. Ignore negative campaigning: TV or internet attack ads, phone calls and mail coming from a political candidate is almost always one-sided and does not make you an informed voter. This is a part of politics you should strive to avoid. Nothing productive comes from listening to Generic Politician’s commercial as to why Generic Opponent is bad for the country. Obviously, a candidate thinks his or her rival is not the best choice- duh! As soon as you hear ominous music and a bunch of selectively edited audio clips, “studies” or anything similar- RUN AWAY! There is little objectivity in such sources.
 
4. Avoid pissing matches: We all have at least one friend or acquaintance who loves to tell you how full of sh#t you are about politics. Likewise, there are plenty of people on the internet who spend their entire lives doing this to complete strangers. Once a conversation denigrates into a shouting match, personal attacks or random tangents, stop. No one will change their mind because of this enlightening discourse, so move on. So much energy and sanity can be saved by avoiding these interactions altogether and concentrating on the other points.
 
5. Don’t forget local and state politics: As I have covered in an earlier post, local and state politics affect you on a daily basis, With the media frenzy regarding the Presidency, remember there are offices in your community and state which require the same level of participation. Often, these races are not as nasty as the national ones which makes it easier to become involved. Attend local meetings hosted by politicians, write your representative or volunteer on a campaign. Educate yourself as to who or what is on the ballot, and exercise your voting rights! It is very possible and satisfying to see the local and statewide effects of your political involvement.
 
I sincerely hope that this piece will help you. In our democracy, we need an active, informed and passionate citizenry. Politics can be difficult, but if you keep these points in mind, you can avoid many of the unpleasant aspects and make your political system work for you!
 
Thank you so much for reading. Please like, share or comment if you would be so kind.