My response to “I’m just not a political person” is usually either “Bullshit” or “So, you’re just useless then.”
To borrow a paragraph from Sami Fishbein Sage’s essay, Unpacking “I’m Not A Political Person”:
It’s A Privilege To “Not Be Political”
When you say you’re not political, you’re telling on yourself. What you’re saying is that you’ve only been on the receiving end of all these invisible perks the government provides, rather than being on the side that suffers from the lack of them or that is even actively harmed by them. For example, it’s only because of active participation in politics that same-sex marriages are legal. That happened less than five years ago, and it would no doubt be the dream of a conservative Supreme Court to overturn it. Try telling your gay friend, whose marriage status could be in real jeopardy based on election outcomes, that you’re not political and see how they react.
...and by that, I mean, being completely ignorant of the larger world outside the U.S.…
Wednesday, August 7, 1991: A sunny day at Toronto’s CNE Grandstand, and what a lineup:…
The cover painting says it all.
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After voting for the least awful candidate in each official election, it's really hard to "be political". And I can count on one hand the times my least awful candidate actually won. Hard to "be political" when apparently all my neighbours are more than happy to vote in the most awful candidate. "Demoralizing" is not a strong enough term.
The major handicap to "being political" between elections, is our system requires me to choose a team, like some halfwit sports tournament. But, none of the Official Political Parties offer a platform that suits me 100%. It's hard enough to vote and be done, but picking the least awful party and wearing their Team Colours is more kool-aid than I can drink.
Political actions not party-affiliated? I'm afraid age and cynicism have me only rolling my eyes at protestors marching or demonstrators waving signs, or the other methods of registering dissatisfaction. Me taking a petition door to door will not alter anyone's word view.
All in all, I'm not saying apathy is the path to follow, but "being political" is more than daunting. It's standing with a pen knife in front of a tangled jungle wall, looking for any entry point.