An open letter to the people who "don't really follow politics"

That's it. Someone needs to tell you people off, and I'm in the perfect mood to do it today.

I would venture to guess that there are more people in America who "don't follow politics" than people who do. They are many reasons for this. Mainly my guess would be that people just have more pressing concerns; the kids need baths, it's almost dinner time, I'm working 2 jobs to make ends meet, etc.  And I get that. Life is busy for all of us.

What I DON'T get are some of the other reasons; American Idol is on, I'm going to Buffalo Wild Wings to get drunk, I need to find out which Kardashian is pregnant now. We are increasingly becoming a nation of grown children, obsessed by our own urge to be constantly entertained. If it's boring, we don't need to do it. We're like little dogs in our ability to be distracted by shiny objects.

And it's infuriating to me.

I know that not everyone enjoys politics. I can appreciate that I find the whole thing more interesting than most. But for the love of God people, this really does affect you!!!!

You seem to be just willfully ignorant about the fact that who represents you in government actually makes a difference in your life. They get to pass laws that govern how you live your life, and you have to deal with it! Don't believe me?  Here are a few examples:

1) Was it simply awful to be subjected to the barrage of campaign ads you had to endure while you were trying to watch American Idol? That was made possible by Citizens United, which allowed unlimited amounts of money to be spent in campaigns. Citizens United was brought to you by conservative Supreme Court Justices who were appointed by conservative Presidents. Oh, but you probably don't even know what "conservative" means, do you?

2) Like birth control? Did you ever get any of it from a clinic like Planned Parenthood? Did it keep you from getting pregnant when you didn't want to be? Well clinics like those rely heavily on federal funding, which can be easily pulled by a conservative government. And what's more, they're already trying to pass laws to make it so that your health insurance doesn't have to cover your birth control. Have fun paying full price for those pills every month!

3) Do your kids go to a public school? Are you tired of getting that long list at the beginning of the school year that asks you to pay for everything right down to the kleenex in the classroom? That is because of underfunded schools. You could fix that!!

But you don't. None of you do. You prefer to bitch and moan about what "the government" does, as if you have no control over who is actually IN the government.  You are so busy staring at shiny objects that you have NO IDEA what your lawmakers are doing behind your backs.

Yesterday, I lost my state representative.  He was the kind of guy that was still idealistic about his job, and actually worked hard for the good of his community. He actually got to know his constituents and took the time to listen to them and help wherever he could. And I don't blame his loss on the Republicans. I blame it squarely on you. People who don't vote because you're too damn lazy and disinterested to take 10 minutes out of your day to go fucking vote already!

And if you don't want to follow politics, America makes it easy for you! We have a two-party system (for now). Pick one and get on board! They even put the name of the party on the ballot in case you have no idea who the candidate is! It's simple!

Have no idea who you even WANT to vote for? Here, take a quiz. This quiz will tell you who to vote for! It's ridiculously easy!!!!!

The apathy is just stunning to me. I can't even wrap my god damned brain around it.  We actually live in a country where the common people can choose their leaders, and a majority of them don't even bother!

And as a result, we live in a country where the rich are getting richer, and the poor are getting poorer. It's taking more hours at work just to support a family, and I wonder how long it will take for people to get fed up enough to actually want to DO something about it.

I think of all the struggles of the past: unions, abortion, corporate regulation. We're going to have to fight all of those battles all over again, because people have gotten so lazy and complacent that they've just watched all of their rights slowly go away.  If all of you people who "don't follow politics" started following it, even just a little, we could change SO MUCH in America. Maybe you wouldn't have to worry about going bankrupt because your kid got sick. Maybe you could afford to take a vacation once in awhile. Maybe you wouldn't have to go back to work six weeks after giving birth. We are all living at the mercy of corporations right now, and most of us don't even realize it.  And we do nothing to change it.

I don't even know why I bother some days. Why do I waste my time trying to make things better, when clearly so many people just don't even give a shit? I'm sure I'll get my motivation back eventually, but for now, I need to just stew about the sorry state of the American people for a little while.