Politics Suck

So in the last few days, we have seen the "Government Shutdown."  Many people are frantic over this and think this will affect them in some way major.  The upside is, the majority of the nation will see no affects of this in a very meaningful way, especially if history serves as an example.  Eventually, the big wigs will finally come to some agreement and things will continue business-as-usual.  In the meantime, state-run programs will run their day to day operations and the Military will still be paid.  All of this seems well and good but let's go back to the people frantic about it.  Those are the people that are fun to talk about.

I get a little annoyed when I see posts on social media websites that mistake opinion and poor criticism with fact and constructive criticism.  There are legitimately people out there who hate Obama and blame him for things that legitimately have nothing to do with Obama.  Let's not ignore the fact that I personally do not like Obama.  I don't like his policies, even though some would have great potential if he wasn't so god damned dead-set in the way it has to work and Congress would fucking agree to some of the more reasonable requests without some asshole throwing a fit, but let's give credit where credit is due.  Obama is not without fault but he is not the only one at fault and it is up to us as citizens to police our own Government before they police us.  With great respect to some of my friends, I feel like a good handful of them just should not be posting political discussions on the internet because they just simply suck at formulating a valid argument that can hold much weight.

Earlier today, a very close friend of mine was upset that every time he opens up Facebook, he sees a post from someone that has nothing but nasty things to say about Obama and so he posted something talking about if he sees any more of it, he was going to remove people from his friend's list over it.  At first, I chuckled, thinking "well shit, I know I'm not one of them but that's no reason to treat people as if deleting them from your friends list is the end of that friendship for good."  To some that know me, you know that being on a friends list on Facebook is the last thing I am concerned with.  I have been removed from friends lists, blocked, sent nasty messages from people I don't even know and I am still here, coming out very well in the end with the friends I still have.  The only time I have removed people is when I just don't want to see or hear any of the drama or if I have decided to halt communication with that individual, but never have I used it as a way to end a friendship.

Back to the issue at hand though, I read this post and replied a little but nothing disrespectful but then I saw one guy post and suddenly, the two polar opposite opinions were clashing.  Neither presented a valid argument and that is where I draw the line.  The statement (which is slightly edited to provide context) that pushed me beyond that line was "I don't like [Obama] so I'm gonna blame it on him no matter wat."  Let's just look at this statement again.  He doesn't like someone...so he's going to blame things on him that has nothing to do with him...no matter whose fault it is.  Please, if you have a stance like this, do not post anything politically motivated again.  Ever.  "Kthanxbai," as some people would say.  The problem with statements like this is there is no substance to it.  You provide your stance and what actions you are going to take but you provide no logical reasoning behind it.  If you are looking to open a forum for discussion, or at least contribute to that discussion, at least make your statement constructive and insightful.  You must provide your stance, some facts that led you to take that stance, how you feel it can be fixed and how you will act to fix it.  A better version of this would be "Obama is failing to lead our country in a direction that I feel is suitable.  He is unable to [insert reason here] and I feel that we need to get rid of him.  His policies and lack of action are hurting my family and I wish to see him impeached."  This would have been a far more insightful argument and a solution is provided.

The problem is that most people are incapable of forming a coherent sentence, much less formulate an insightful though.  It is my wish that people who have this problem would just keep their mouth shut.  No matter how much I try to be helpful and try to educate these people on how they go about trying to get their point across, it is a losing battle.  If you wish to be taken seriously, people need to be able to read what you are saying, they need to be able to understand where you are coming from and you need to avoid using childish tactics to get that point across.  Most of us who talk politics are grown adults and as such, you need to be on their level mentally and if you aren't at that point in your life yet then please don't bother; you only give the rest of us who share a similar opinion a bad name.

In this situation, neither side are right or wrong.  They are all opinions.  The people who love Obama are looking at this all with rose-tinted glasses from when they first placed their vote for the man (regrettably, I was one of them who voted for the man) and simply saying "try doing his job with everyone talking shit" is hardly a valid argument.  A man in the White House should have conviction to their views and stick to it.  We the people have a job to keep the man in check and if at any point his views begin to harm the country, we have the right to let him know that either he needs to change or we will need to find someone else.  Consider us the board of directors and him being the CEO.  The CEO can be replaced by the board if what they are doing is not "best for business" in the form of impeachment.  It is my opinion, based on the events of the last few years, that we need a complete re-structuring of our Government, starting with firing the majority of leaders and replacing them with people who care about the people.

Where do you stand?  Do you want real change or do you want the same shit for the rest of your life?  That choice is yours but make sure that you have a good reason for making your choice or it will only harm you.  At this point, I really suppose whether you love or hate Obama, the main thing you can do for yourself is to stay true to your ideals but if you want people to listen to you, please put some thought into what you say when you talk politics.