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Politics is my life. Politics is part of everyone’s life, whether they recognize it or not. And everyone has an opinion on politics, whether they see that or not. For example, the pothead living down the hall from you would probably favor legalization of marijuana, or at least reducing the punishment for possession. Or perhaps your friend with a lot of “risky” videos on his computer prefers that the adult film industry is allowed to realize its creative ideas with as little government censorship as possible. So when someone says they don’t have a political opinion, or that they “just don’t care,” act like the late Lenny Briscoe from “Law and Order” and just ask the right questions until you get the right answers. Man, do I love me some TNT “Primetime in the Daytime.”
But this leads to the greater question of why people avoid politics. The answer is surprising. It’s my fault. It’s also the fault of anyone else who considers themselves politically active but doesn’t try to instigate political curiosity within people. I write political opinions in this paper, but nobody reads them.
There are heroes in this fight to get politics into daily discussion, and they’re the best kind of heroes: celebrity heroes. Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Lewis Black, Bill Maher, Richard Dreyfuss and pretty much any other stand-up willing to poke fun at politics can be credited for helping the most important part of our world lose its stigma as a boring subject. But politics still makes awful pillow talk.
As an example of this, look at how “The Daily Show” started. Craig Kilborn led the show with his arrogant and flamboyant attitude. It was pretty much the same thing as SportsCenter, but he could talk about more than sports. But the massive success of the show was minimal compared to Kilborn’s ego, so he left to lead a late-night and now-failed talk show. But when Jon Stewart came on, the jokes about how thin Calista Flockhart is or how no one should buy Pogs were replaced by political jokes that made us realize how little we knew about government.
It was awkward for a while, especially since Jon Stewart looked uncomfortable in his own skin sometimes. After all, he was just a stand-up comic before this and had only been in a handful of small movie parts. He wasn’t an anchorman. But can you picture the show today without him or its relentless scrutiny of politics?
So, lastly, if you really want people to start talking about the shadowy organizations and regulations that control most aspects of their lives, don’t let them off the hook so easily. If a friend says they’re not going to vote, it’s always due to apathy or ignorance, such as “all politics are the same,” “no one deserves to win,” “things will just stay the same” or “I’m a non-voting felon.” Sorry, that’s not good enough. Except for the last one.
You actually have to know which Congressional session we’re in to be able to tell me they suck. The answer is 109th Congress now, and they worked 103 days, less than Harry Truman’s “Do-Nothing Congress” of 1948. The 110th Congress will be sworn in this January. Try and make conversation and spark some curiosity. It’s your civic duty.
Seamus McGrath acts like the late Lenny Briscoe far too often.
