Butch Turned Off and Tuned Out!!!

   Recent research has brought to light a trend that has grown rapidly in the past few years . . . people are sick of politics and just tuning it out of their lives. I must admit that I’m in the same boat. When I was a youngster, my parents rarely talked about politics. I heard about politics once in a while on the TV news and or in the newspaper, but never really paid much attention. I became more involved after high school in the late 1960s, but attending college while also working full time left little time to discuss politics. However, nowadays it seems a person cannot get away from it. The amount of information and news coverage is overwhelming.

   There are several reasons why people are disgusted with politics today. First of all, it is full of negativity . . . arguing, name-calling, put-downs and vitriol . . . and the “I’m always right and you’re always wrong” attitude. Both parties seem to take their ideas to the extreme, with no room for compromise. They refuse to listen to an opposing viewpoint. When this happens, many people wish there were more than two political parties . . . or even no parties at all. Voting becomes an exercise in choosing the lesser of two evils.

   Another reason people have become disgusted has to do with the politicians themselves. It seems they have all of these great ideas of what they want to accomplish, but after they are voted into office, very little is done. Instead of acting on behalf of the people, politicians act on behalf of themselves. They crave attention and love the limelight, but there is no meaningful change. The problems continue. One example is the national debt, which continues to grow despite all of their promises.

   The election process itself needs to be revamped. In most cases, money is the key factor in winning a national political office. The vast majority of money comes from special interest groups, corporations and wealthy individuals who want favorable legislation on their behalf. The “little people” have a very small chance of being heard. When they go to the polls, they vote for what they think the politicians can do for them . . . and let’s face it, most of the time it’s nothing. And once a politician is in office, he is usually there to stay . . . forever. There needs to be term limits for every political office at the national level.

   Yes, I am interested in politics and what happens in our country. I just don’t want to listen to anyone talk about it. I know a few who go on and on and on about politics. It seems they actually enjoy getting into a heated conversation about the other party, policies, executive orders, the President, controversial political figures, etc. etc. That’s all some of these people think about. I say, “Just shut your trap. We don’t want to hear it!” It has affected their mental health. A few nuts even resort to political violence . . . grafitti, vandalism, assaults, arson, and yes . . . even murder. You want to get riled up? Tune in to the major TV news channels, or read a few Facebook posts from those people who have nothing better to do than spout off political vituperative attacks on anything and anyone they disagree with.

   National politics will always be here. It is currently dominated by the biased and loudest voices of both parties and the major news networks. At my age, I prefer peace and quiet. The ‘60s hippies guru Timothy Leary urged people to “Turn on, tune in.” When it comes to MSNBC, FOX News and CNN and their coverage of politics, I prefer to “Turn off, tune out.” I consider myself relatively sane. I prefer to stay that way.

John “Butch” Dale is a retired teacher and County Sheriff. He has also been the librarian at Darlington the past 36 years, and is a well-known artist and author of local history.