[Purple Derple]

I can't wait for election day to come and go so this election cycle will be over and everyone can shut up. Politics has invaded everything recently and I just pine to read anything that doesn't entail politics and spin. I care about this more than I care who wins. Does anyone else feel the same way or have I posted this in the wrong section!?

[mspeasl]

Originally Posted by Purple Derple

I can't wait for election day to come and go so this election cycle will be over and everyone can shut up. Politics has invaded everything recently and I just pine to read anything that doesn't entail politics and spin. I care about this more than I care who wins. Does anyone else feel the same way or have I posted this in the wrong section!?

I agree...... lt can't come any to soon.

[OldArmy]

Vote tomorrow and get it over with, everyone has made up their minds long ago.

[ragingclue]

I agree, especially since this year's election is like watching Timmy fight Jimmy, but without any sort of humor whatsoever. We need to find a way to produce better candidates.

[MiddleAgedAl]

Well, If it makes it any easier to put up with the unrelenting coverage, think of it this way:
The end result of "politics", for better or for worse, can greatly affect your life in many ways.

When I think of the amount of coverage that something like the death of a celebrity gets, that's what is really crazy. It just goes on and on and on. Sometimes I think that even if someone found a cure for cancer on the same day that Michael Jackson died, the lead news story would have nothing to do with medical researchers. Stuff like that doesnt really affect your ability to maintain your lifestyle the way political outcomes do.

In a way, having this much coverage once every 4 years sorta balances things out in the grand scheme of things...

Also, NEVER FORGET that there are people in other parts of the planet, who are still literally dying during their struggle to get the right to have democratic elections. Having to put up with nonstop coverage is a problem they would love to have.

[Fox128i]

I still haven't decided as to whom I will vote for. Not a fan of either man bucking for the job if truth be known.


I say "boo" to the both of them.

[Purple Derple]

Originally Posted by OldArmy

Vote tomorrow and get it over with, everyone has made up their minds long ago.

Ah but that's not my point. My point is the presence of politics in everything is ramped up during this time. For sure I could vote now, but that wouldn't remove the political ramblings from social media, main stream media, or the undertones from things that could very easily not delve into the politics at all, yet do.

Al, your point is well taken and I agree. Some people however are just as put off by politics like in your example of celbrity culture and it has become almost unavoidable. I can't even read a surfing blog without coming across it!

And also, not directed at anyone, this isn't a thread about what candidate we do or don't like, it is just about the tiresomeness of this election cycle.

[Purple Derple]

Al, after reading your post again I very much agree with you. With that in mind now, what bothers me more is the quality of the coverage has also degraded into unbelievable garbage, lies, half truths, spin, spin, spin, a clash of personalities, and in my opinion a downright collapse of journalistic integrity and the moral obligation to objectively portray the facts. The line between blogs and news, opinion and best practice fact has been smudged to virtually non-existent. Now I'm going on about something I'd rather not talk about at all!

[Templar]

I'm really sick of the lame commercials... I mean honestly, if you're Joe Schmoe, who do you believe? They both lie, attack each other, and just make general asshats of themselves in these commercials. I feel the ads are just aimed at the ignorant and uninformed, but honestly those types of people make up a large majority of the voting force, so that is what is scary.

The fact is, as you said, "unbelievable garbage, lies, half truths, spin, spin, spin..." That is all you see on the television, and people eat it right up and base their decisions off of it. That's what makes me hate it the most.

[techietaichi]

It's all spin and it's stupid. Most politicians are crooks as far as I'm concerned anyway. Sure, I know who I'm voting for, but I'm looking forward to it all being over and finally being free of all the R-tard rhetoric.

[rgrovr]

Man, if the founders had held the OPs attitude regarding politics, there probably wouldn't be any place for him to whine and moan about it today.

It would have been so classically emo to have someone outside the Constitutional Convention bitchin about how long it takes and why do they argue so much about it..

[Purple Derple]

Originally Posted by rgrovr

Man, if the founders had held the OPs attitude regarding politics, there probably wouldn't be any place for him to whine and moan about it today.

It would have been so classically emo to have someone outside the Constitutional Convention bitchin about how long it takes and why do they argue so much about it..

Welcome to the thread, thanks for bringing the nyc attitude. That isn't what I was saying at all, why do you think that?

[rgrovr]

Originally Posted by Purple Derple

Welcome to the thread, thanks for bringing the nyc attitude. That isn't what I was saying at all, why do you think that?

Because Politics matters. Deeply. Even for the Kim Kardashian generation.

It is the compact between people for the stewardship of our society. The same society that provides you the ability to opine about how miserable you are at the level of debate regarding Politics. When you are indifferent to that cause - you show little to no perspective about how our country not only got to be where it is today, but just how fleeting that journey is.

The tyranny of a prince in an oligarchy is not so dangerous to the public welfare as the apathy of a citizen in a democracy - Montesquieu

The death of democracy is not likely to be an assassination from ambush. It will be a slow extinction from apathy, indifference, and undernourishment -
Robert Maynard Hutchins

And second of all, this election season and political debate is mild in comparison. Congenial to be frank. If you've been around long enough to remember or study it, every Presidential election in our history has been a contest of sharp words and self-interested definition of political views.

Google your way to the Jefferson vs. Adams campaign (link)and gain perspective about political mudslinging or attacks if you doubt me.

[JoeyO]

I think a lot of people put too much faith in the position of the President of the United States, particularly when it comes to the economy. Heck, Ben Bernanke is probably a much more powerful person than the president, when it comes to matters of your personal finances.

I've been a long-time registered party voter, but as time goes on, I'm beginning to dislike both parties equally the same. If you're a Democrat, then you can point to the eight years of the Republican presidency for getting us into this mess in 2008. If you're a Republican, then you can point to the 4 years of the current presidency for not getting us out of this mess. Then there are those who says congress make-up matters more. Well if that's true, then the last time we had a surplus was during a Democrat president (Clinton) and a Republican congress. Sound familiar? That's what we have today, so that theory goes out the window too.

It's all hogwash. Some people are so brainwashed into thinking the next president is their savior, their messiah. Good luck with that people. I thought the USA was formed because we didn't want to be ruled by a king with absolute power.

[Purple Derple]

Originally Posted by rgrovr

Because Politics matters. Deeply. Even for the Kim Kardashian generation.

It is the compact between people for the stewardship of our society. The same society that provides you the ability to opine about how miserable you are at the level of debate regarding Politics. When you are indifferent to that cause - you show little to no perspective about how our country not only got to be where it is today, but just how fleeting that journey is.





And second of all, this election season and political debate is mild in comparison. Congenial to be frank. If you've been around long enough to remember or study it, every Presidential election in our history has been a contest of sharp words and self-interested definition of political views.

Google your way to the Jefferson vs. Adams campaign (link)and gain perspective about political mudslinging or attacks if you doubt me.

All well said. I wasn't commenting on the democratic process, which I think your quotes are addressing, but the politics themselves-how they've become pervasive to everything whether you seek it or not. I didn't say I don't care about the issues and am not voting which I think you may have taken it that way. Do you think that campaigns weren't all that different before 24 hour news cycles and social media? Just an interesting thought for discussion: Do you think the overwhelming politicizing of things could lead to popular apathy towards politics in general? Please dude leave this thread if you want to go on about how I'm whining and opining, it isn't the kind of debate we are trying to have here.

[MiddleAgedAl]

Originally Posted by Purple Derple

Do you think the overwhelming politicizing of things could lead to popular apathy towards politics in general?

Politics have become pervasive to everything whether you seek it or not, which is about right when you consider the outcomes of political decisions affect almost everything you do in life, whether you like it or not.

I bet for some folks, the politicizing of things probably leads to apathy, or worse, dislike of politics in general. Choosing to ignore it all is one way to deal with it, but that is not in one's best interest, IMHO. When I was young, foolish, and idealistic at the beginning of my career, I became disillusioned with corporate politics and sought to avoid them, to my detriment. Finally a wiser, older mentor of mine gave me a great bit of advice: "Al, just because you are not paying attention to company politics does not mean that this company's politics are not paying attention to you." Doesnt mean you must become a brown-nosing kiss-ass, but truly understanding the reality of what he meant can mean the difference between having things done to you, and having things done with you. Looking back, considering the difference it made, I wish I had taken that advice earlier.

I do think the huge number of news and media outlets today (including the web), compared to even 20 years ago, means that there is room for the niche providers, which only adds fuel to the fire. No matter how extreme your views are on something, there's probably a news outlet that caters just to you, and will happily feed you exactly what you want to hear, with none of that pesky conflicting info. Not so long ago, that wasnt quite so true.

Nowadays, with the ability to subscribe to certain feeds etc on your iPad or whatever, you can completely saturate yourself in news that only reinforces what you believe, and it can become easy to forget there are other interpretations of things. In the olden days, you'd have to flip thru a newspaper, and even if you chose not to read articles with a different viewpoint, you'd be exposed to them somewhat. You'd know they are there. Now, you can isolate yourself completely from them quite easily, and still have enough news to not be able to read it all each day. Kinda scary when you think about it, I think that is contributing to the polarization of things.

[Purple Derple]

Originally Posted by MiddleAgedAl

In the olden days, you'd have to flip thru a newspaper, and even if you chose not to read articles with a different viewpoint, you'd be exposed to them somewhat. You'd know they are there. Now, you can isolate yourself completely from them quite easily, and still have enough news to not be able to read it all each day. Kinda scary when you think about it, I think that is contributing to the polarization of things.

Hey I think that is a really good point. People are choosing to tune in to the view that appeals to them while ignoring the others. At the same time, there are now markets for political talking heads to pander to people only looking certain views. So nowwe have news media picking sides knowing they'll consolidate a market that way--much like a politician rallying a base. Good point that this is contributing to the polarization of politics.

[MisterSkiMask]

Originally Posted by Purple Derple

Hey I think that is a really good point. People are choosing to tune in to the view that appeals to them while ignoring the others. At the same time, there are now markets for political talking heads to pander to people only looking certain views. So nowwe have news media picking sides knowing they'll consolidate a market that way--much like a politician rallying a base. Good point that this is contributing to the polarization of politics.

I find myself watching/listening to coverage from network and people who typically have view points that are different from my own.

After the debates I switched over to CNN to see what they had to say. You really don't learn anything or think for yourself if you are not exposed to ideas and points of view that are different from your own.

Listening to podcasts is a great way to expose yourself to different points of view too.

[Purple Derple]

Originally Posted by MisterSkiMask

I find myself watching/listening to coverage from network and people who typically have view points that are different from my own.

After the debates I switched over to CNN to see what they had to say. You really don't learn anything or think for yourself if you are not exposed to ideas and points of view that are different from your own.

Listening to podcasts is a great way to expose yourself to different points of view too.

That is very open minded of you. Unfortunately I think you're in the super-minority with this attitude, though a good one. I commend you. I also did this after the debates but could not help but notice how much bias there is in the coverage unfortunately.

[MiddleAgedAl]

Talk about being tired of this whole unrelenting coverage.

This video of this little girl is going viral on the interweb.
She's tired of Bronco Bamma and Mitt Romney too..

[Purple Derple]

Originally Posted by MiddleAgedAl

Talk about being tired of this whole unrelenting coverage.

This video of this little girl is going viral on the interweb.
She's tired of Bronco Bamma and Mitt Romney too..

Ahahaha, I'm glad you thought of this thread when you say that video, Bronco Bama.

[lmaleke]

Well.. I'll be following the results closely from this side of the pacific..