It’s been a grueling year, and these past few days have simply ramped things up. But through it all, I’m reminded that politics isn’t everything . . . and that’s a privilege. Still, I wonder if “it” is ever going to stop.
“It” is a vague word, so I’ll give you a definition. “It” is the constant anger, angst, frustration, debate, contention, media flailing, partisan bickering, coronavirus hysteria and lock downs, riots, threats of riots, fraud, threats of fraud, conspiracies of fraud, legitimate fraud, confusion, political lies, media lies, accusations and attacks, and lack of truth anywhere.
This endless and constant barrage has only increased over the past few days as the election results have come in muddied and confusing.
You may hold liberal, conservative, libertarian and any other sort of ideological beliefs, but I’m sure we can agree on this: politics is not everything and it shouldn’t be. It shouldn’t inundate and poison every part of our lives. And yet today, it’s part of sports, movies, TV shows, entertainment, social media, marketing, shopping, holidays, relationships, family, friendships — the list could stretch into eternity.
The beauty of living in a free country, a country with liberty, is that politics doesn’t have to be everything.
This is very rare. In many countries, where government oppresses and controls every facet of an individual’s, politics and government is truly everything, no matter how hard the citizenry tries to escape it. Under this kind of government oppression, the people have no choice but to live with politics and government in their lives.
In other countries where basic needs (food, water, clothing and shelter) are not met, people’s lives are consumed with simply trying to survive. They don’t have time to worry about “rights” and “liberty.” Such topics aren’t even on their radar.
They don’t have the luxury of kneeling on a field in front of a national audience to protest perceived injustices. They don’t have the luxury of complaining about which bathroom people should be allowed to use (many don’t have bathrooms to begin with). They don’t have the luxury of protesting police brutality, mask mandates, unlawful government shutdowns and the like. They don’t have the luxury of complaining about how many blacks, Hispanics, women, Asians and the like are represented in government or in business.
We’re so entitled, so blessed, so spoiled here in America, and yet we have people on one political side calling for a revolution and on the other buckling up for a Civil War. Over what? Usually when citizens revolt, it’s because they’ve been oppressed, suppressed, and abused by an authoritarian regime. They have a reason to be angry.
That’s not to say that there aren’t wrong doings in America. There are government abuses, oppression, mistreatment, government overreach, and unconstitutional behavior that violates our rights. But even in that, the individual who was violated or is just angry usually has a home with a TV, an iPhone, and food.
It’s a privilege to be able to protest injustices, but we should do so realizing that the worst in America is still not this:
Don’t believe me? Around the world, starvation is a major issue with approximately 821 million people not having enough food to live and function — 98 percent of them living in developing countries like Indonesia, the Philippines, and Ethiopia, to name a few.
Water is something that most Americans don’t even think about, but guess what? 2.1 billion people don’t have access to safe drinking water. In fact, unclean drinking water is responsible for 1.2 million deaths worldwide every year.
How many Americans have access to clean water? Almost every single one. Only .00005% of Americans live without basic access to drinking water and sanitation.
Let’s move out from food and water. How many Americans have cell phones? 96 percent. Talk about privilege.
In China, there are prison camps, re-education camps, and constant surveillance and control over even the most minute movements of individuals.
You want to talk about corrupt police? We haven’t seen corrupt police like what we have witnessed in places like Mexico and Cambodia.
Why does America have so much of “it”… so much constant anger, angst, frustration, debate, contention, media flailing, partisan bickering, coronavirus hysteria and lock downs, riots, threats of riots, fraud, threats of fraud, conspiracies of fraud, legitimate fraud, confusion, political lies, media lies, and lack of truth anywhere?
She has so much of “it” because she is free. She’s has the privilege to complain about police corruption, government corruption, microaggressions, gender inequalities, racism, sexism, unconstitutional behavior and the like.
Sometimes though, like during this election, I just want “it” to stop, even if just for a moment. For Americans to stop and look at what they’re doing, what they’re angry at, and what they’re protesting. To stop obsessing over politics and start obsessing over life and the reality that it’s a privilege to choose to obsess over politics when we want and ignore it when we want.
We have so much in America, and because we’re free, we have more than most people in the world could ever dream of having.
Politics isn’t everything in America, but that doesn’t mean we should ignore it, be uneducated and uninformed. Instead, it means we need to live in freedom without government pervading every aspect of our lives. Having the liberty to choose to protest, to watch one news station over another, to ignore politics or engage in politics is, in itself, the result of a stable and free country.
I’ve noticed something; there’s been very little rioting and protesting happening during this limbo period of the election, and it’s been kind of nice. Maybe during this eye of the storm, more people will realize this.
Because in America, politics isn’t everything . . . and that is a privilege.
This article is used by permission and has been edited for publication on this site.
Christin McMasters is a South Carolinian now residing in North Carolina and has a Ph.D. in political science. She is a budding blogger and political science instructor, and her passion is politics.
Using her keyboard as her weapon of choice, Christin imparts some of her excitement, passion and knowledge about American government on her website, TheLibertyBelleNC.com.
Follow Christin on Facebook TheLibertyBelleNC and Twitter @LibertyBelleNC.
