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Politics - Active or Apathetic?

Apathy - have you experienced it?

  • What is apathetic?

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    23

TheGirlNextDoor

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I wanted to make a poll to find out if there are others here like me. I have been very interested in political issues for YEARS - until about a year ago. Not sure what happened, whether it was because it seemed the players changed, but the game remained the same.. or if it's something more.

Something has happened to me, and I can't quite put my finger on it. I tried to blow it off at first, telling myself that it was another ebb and flow of the political world and that I would snap out of it, but it's been almost a year now, and I still find myself dwindling right on the brink of total apathy toward anything political.

I still have very strong opinions about a lot of things, but my desire to discuss them - let alone argue them - has diminished. I never thought in a million years, that I would be something that I abhor - a politically apathetic American.

Do you go through periods of apathy toward politics and if so, have you ever felt like you wouldn't 'snap out of it'?
 
I go through periods of apathy... it's mostly a defense mechanism. You can't really be tuned into politics all the time without it starting to alter your mood. At some point you have to let go and just focus on other things. Sometimes deciding to not care is the best medicine, but I wouldn't make it a long-term prescription.
 
I wanted to make a poll to find out if there are others here like me. I have been very interested in political issues for YEARS - until about a year ago. Not sure what happened, whether it was because it seemed the players changed, but the game remained the same.. or if it's something more.

Something has happened to me, and I can't quite put my finger on it. I tried to blow it off at first, telling myself that it was another ebb and flow of the political world and that I would snap out of it, but it's been almost a year now, and I still find myself dwindling right on the brink of total apathy toward anything political.

I still have very strong opinions about a lot of things, but my desire to discuss them - let alone argue them - has diminished. I never thought in a million years, that I would be something that I abhor - a politically apathetic American.

Do you go through periods of apathy toward politics and if so, have you ever felt like you wouldn't 'snap out of it'?

Basically what Orion said, it can be so mentally draining, that it's healthy to take a break from it.
 
I was always apathetic about politics until the attack on 9/11. Then I was interested, but never as engaged as I've been the last couple of years.
More people than ever seem to be getting engaged.
So what's wrong with you girl???
Just joking....
No, seriously..,
SNAP OUT OF IT! :)
 
Basically what Orion said, it can be so mentally draining, that it's healthy to take a break from it.

This site will do things to you. It's so easy to get riled up when your opinions are so strong and there is so little that you can actually do to change things.
 
This site will do things to you. It's so easy to get riled up when your opinions are so strong and there is so little that you can actually do to change things.

Pretty much.

I've been so lazy about things, that I really don't know who's running for house and senate around here.
Because it really doesn't matter who wins.
 
I have strong opinions on a lot of issues, but I don't tend to discuss them publicly except with a select group of people (and my desire to discuss politics even with those people varies, depending on the subject). I doubt I'll vote this November, because it's meaningless and a waste of my time.

I've found that my passion for politics has been largely supplanted by my passion for science/technology. In the grand scheme of things, science and technology have done far more than politics to make this world a better place. And to the extent that political ideas have made the world a better place, they're generally a result of some technological development anyway.
 
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I care about political issues and I'm very passionate about arguing them, but I am finding myself less and less interested in the actual political process. Just seems like a waste of time and energy, since the same people will get elected and re-elected no matter what I do about it, and there's nothing anyone can do to keep them from driving this country into the ground. I talk about trying to survive and trying to rebuild afterwards, but really I'm just here so I can laugh and tell everyone I told them so while we're watching it all burn.
 
Many people my age don't follow politics or the (important) news at all. It really makes me sad and angry because it is our generation who is going to have to deal with the problems the government has created or is creating.
 
I care about political issues and I'm very passionate about arguing them, but I am finding myself less and less interested in the actual political process. Just seems like a waste of time and energy, since the same people will get elected and re-elected no matter what I do about it, and there's nothing anyone can do to keep them from driving this country into the ground. I talk about trying to survive and trying to rebuild afterwards, but really I'm just here so I can laugh and tell everyone I told them so while we're watching it all burn.

If people re-elect a large portion of incumbents this November, I will lose a lot of faith in the American people.
 
It'll hurt less if you just accept it now.
 
I wanted to make a poll to find out if there are others here like me. I have been very interested in political issues for YEARS - until about a year ago. Not sure what happened, whether it was because it seemed the players changed, but the game remained the same.. or if it's something more.

Something has happened to me, and I can't quite put my finger on it. I tried to blow it off at first, telling myself that it was another ebb and flow of the political world and that I would snap out of it, but it's been almost a year now, and I still find myself dwindling right on the brink of total apathy toward anything political.

I still have very strong opinions about a lot of things, but my desire to discuss them - let alone argue them - has diminished. I never thought in a million years, that I would be something that I abhor - a politically apathetic American.

Do you go through periods of apathy toward politics and if so, have you ever felt like you wouldn't 'snap out of it'?

Politics has always been dirty, now, IMO, its filthy dirty...This dirt keeps decent people away..I do not think it has to be this way, but until we have "a better people"..............
 
Wow. I'm so surprised at the responses.

I hope every single poster will vote. The very least one can do is that. Ya' know how they say people should vote with their feet? If they don't like something, leave? Well, my latest philosophy is a rather resigned position that Congress stinks. The whole lot of them. So I'm going to vote that way. I'm going to vote against every single encumbant on the ticket.

Will it make a difference? Well, not just if Maggie does it. But if Congress suddenly 'got the message' that Americans were no longer going to tolerate business-as-usual, things would change. The way for Congress to get the message is to have larger and larger numbers of votes against encumbants.

I see that as the only thing I can do that just might make a difference.
 
Wow. I'm so surprised at the responses.

I hope every single poster will vote. The very least one can do is that. Ya' know how they say people should vote with their feet? If they don't like something, leave? Well, my latest philosophy is a rather resigned position that Congress stinks. The whole lot of them. So I'm going to vote that way. I'm going to vote against every single encumbant on the ticket.

Will it make a difference? Well, not just if Maggie does it. But if Congress suddenly 'got the message' that Americans were no longer going to tolerate business-as-usual, things would change. The way for Congress to get the message is to have larger and larger numbers of votes against encumbants.

I see that as the only thing I can do that just might make a difference.

I hope a majority of people feel this way. How could anyone vote these people in again? I'm still looking into it, but I plan to vote Independent this year.
 
I hope a majority of people feel this way. How could anyone vote these people in again? I'm still looking into it, but I plan to vote Independent this year.

I usually vote libertarian. Not that I want the libertarian to win or that I think he'll do a good job: it's not that at all. What I hope to acheive is greater recognition for 3rd party candidates and that your vote is not between sucks and sucks more. It's why I voted for Bob Barr in 2008 even though I didn't want him to win (what with his past). In this way I feel my vote has the most significance because voting for the major candidates makes an utterly insignificant difference.
 
Wow. I'm so surprised at the responses.

I hope every single poster will vote. The very least one can do is that. Ya' know how they say people should vote with their feet? If they don't like something, leave? Well, my latest philosophy is a rather resigned position that Congress stinks. The whole lot of them. So I'm going to vote that way. I'm going to vote against every single encumbant on the ticket.

Will it make a difference? Well, not just if Maggie does it. But if Congress suddenly 'got the message' that Americans were no longer going to tolerate business-as-usual, things would change. The way for Congress to get the message is to have larger and larger numbers of votes against encumbants.

I see that as the only thing I can do that just might make a difference.

I don't vote as a protest.

I think legitimizing an ethically challenged voting system is wrong.
I can't put my seal of approval on it.
 
I don't vote as a protest.

I think legitimizing an ethically challenged voting system is wrong.
I can't put my seal of approval on it.

I don't understand what your post means. Could you say it another way?
 
I don't understand what your post means. Could you say it another way?

Voting, in the voting system as it is now, is not ethically sound in my opinion.

With gerrymandering, ballot access laws, and universal suffrage (among other things), I can't vote.
It violates my personal ethics, to legitimize it.
 
I wanted to make a poll to find out if there are others here like me. I have been very interested in political issues for YEARS - until about a year ago. Not sure what happened, whether it was because it seemed the players changed, but the game remained the same.. or if it's something more.

Something has happened to me, and I can't quite put my finger on it. I tried to blow it off at first, telling myself that it was another ebb and flow of the political world and that I would snap out of it, but it's been almost a year now, and I still find myself dwindling right on the brink of total apathy toward anything political.

I still have very strong opinions about a lot of things, but my desire to discuss them - let alone argue them - has diminished. I never thought in a million years, that I would be something that I abhor - a politically apathetic American.

Do you go through periods of apathy toward politics and if so, have you ever felt like you wouldn't 'snap out of it'?

I didn't stop caring about politics, I stopped talking about it. I can't seem to muster the energy.
 
Politics has always been dirty, now, IMO, its filthy dirty...This dirt keeps decent people away..I do not think it has to be this way, but until we have "a better people"..............

All the more reason for people to get involved. If we had all good honest people we could become apathetic.
Since that will NEVER happen we need to stay vigilant. :)
 
I would probably be considered somewhat apathetic.

I discuss a few things that interest me on this board, occasionally get into a topic or two for a few days...but I don't really care enough to invest lots of my time into it.

I vote, but am not "active" in the sense of assisting campaigns, protesting, or whatever.

From time to time I stop thinking about politics at all, perhaps (as others have said) some strange automatic defense system? :mrgreen:

Really, it seems like most politicians are all the same - at least after about half a year in office...

So, perhaps the vote all incumbents out every single time idea is the way to go.

Won't work so well, what with the masses of people who simply vote one party or the other.

/shrug
 
No, never. I have been more active than now, and I have engaged in a political party in my home country Norway. I still care about Norwegian politics, but I don't really care whatever they do. I don't live there anymore. However, I'm less interested in NZ politics, but that just because it makes more sense. I still care about the issues, and I will get pretty mad if they for instance decide to cap the number of working hours.
 
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I wanted to make a poll to find out if there are others here like me. I have been very interested in political issues for YEARS - until about a year ago. Not sure what happened, whether it was because it seemed the players changed, but the game remained the same.. or if it's something more. >>

It isn't just boring politics. It's the narrow minded bores associated with it, including some of the people in this forum.

Wherever you go, you will always find idiots. You can laugh at them or become an idiot yourself.

ricksfolly
 
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