Hello, dear readers thanks for clicking.
I’m looking for reassurance that there are other people out there that feel like me. So if this sounds like you, keep reading. I hate politics right now, but when I do tune in I’m obsessed with how nuts any issue has been condensed. I have two extreme choices to choose from and neither reflect my values or make me feel comfortable engaging in political discussions. I don’t like to see the worst in others. I want to see what we have in common on an issue and work from there. I will not be boxed in by polarization manufactured by sad political strategists working from sterile open concept work environments or the old school beige/grey mazes either. I try to make a small difference by reminding people I love when they bring up a hot topic that it’s rarely ever as cut and dry as they think it may be. I also usually get lectured about how I’m wrong when I “defend” the other side that I never defended. I’m still processing how our political muscles and vocabulary have changed since 2016. I don’t mourn what it used to be, it was never great, but I get sad thinking about the disregard for human life and intelligence on the other side of the debate. I hate the hate.
I wish I could make changes on the margins. The small kind that people tell me is useless to bother with––I can’t change the electorate. The same way third parties don’t stand a chance. In the same way, most people don’t neatly fall within any American political party.
I love meeting truly passionate people that care about issues deeply. The ones who are on a mission to make their world a better place for whatever reason or another. The ones that will have an open, smart, witty, and non-judgemental conversation with me about public policy where we leave it at “agree to disagree” and no one skips a beat and we’re on to talking about the next thing. I love learning new things and I love being convinced I was wrong...or at least wrong in thinking I was dealing with an open-shut case. I love the nuance, but I love it even more when people can move past theory and piece together solutions.
I believe human progress comes in bite-sized chunks, not sweeping reforms. I believe too much change at one time causes man to act out in unpredictable ways that often hurt the very mission reforms sought to improve. That doesn’t change that I’m still a dreamer though. I spend more time thinking about the future than the past. And because of that, I can’t stop thinking I can find other people like me that want to do something about this mess.
You Gotta Have Faith
Faith in our systems and institutions is fundamental to a functioning society. Consequently, confidence in institutions is pretty darn low. A few examples from this year’s Gallop Confidence polling:
Congress – 12% (All time low – 7% in 2014)
Television news – 16% *Record low*
Big Business – 18% (All time low – 16% in 2009)
The criminal justice system – 20% (All time low – 15% in 1994)
Newspapers – 21% (All time low – 20% in 2016)
Organized labor – 28% (All time low – 19% in 2007 & 2009)
Large technology companies – 29% *Record low*
The public schools – 32% (All time low – 26% in 2014)
Banks – 33% (All time low – 21% in 2012)
The Supreme Court – 36% (All time low – 30% in 2014)
The church or organized religion – 37% (All time low – 36% in 2019)
The presidency – 38% (All time low – 25% in 2007)
The medical system – 44% (All time low – 31% in 2007)
The police – 51% (All time low – 48% in 2020)
Science – 64% ^
The military – 69% (All time low – 50% in 1981)
Small business – 70% (All time low – 57% in 1998)
Quick side note on political marketing, notice all the 50%+ favorable institutions are often touted by your favorite and least favorite politicians. Every millionaire in Congress is a “small business owner” which is to say, so long as you aren’t a C-suite executive of a Fortune 100 company you can be a small business. There’s a 52 point differential between small and big business and you bet your butt anyone running for office finds a way to fit into the right category.
Trump is an obvious exception to the rule, but I believe his fame factors made up the difference. The same Republican voters that praised his outstanding businessman credentials held their nose and voted for Romney the previous cycle. Can’t trust those big business investment guys. But either way, both Trump and Romney no doubt got hit at the polls because of their big business ties.
No Doubt
Americans are just very distrusting folks which explains a lot. I don’t think it’s a cause for outright panic. Things aren’t as bad as the media would have them seem. And by media, I mean all the media, not just “mainstream media.” Your local talk radio host and the national syndicated professional talkers are all incentivized to take any news item to its most juicy and dramatic angle. We have way too many opinion-pundits out there, says the opinion writer. My problem isn’t that they exist, my problem is with the unchecked irresponsible fact telling they all claim to represent. Rarely do you find a pundit that plays devil’s advocate. Rarely do you find a journalist that can escape partisan accusations–warranted or not. So what does that mean for all us news consumers looking for the unvarnished truth? A headache.
Stop The Steal
Get ready for my absolute biggest pet peeve with politics right now… self-imposed voter suppression. Repeat after me: don’t let *them* steal your vote by convincing you it doesn’t matter that you cast it in the first place.
What’s the point of voting if my ballot won’t get counted?
They’ll switch my vote after I put it in the machine!
They’ll throw my vote away!
They print and stuff ballots for the other guy!
Don’t think the rhetoric matters? Just look what happened in Georgia.
There are a lot of people that don’t believe in the outcome of the 2020 election
There are a lot of people that don’t believe in the outcome of the 2016 election
There are a lot of people that don’t believe in the outcome of the 2012 election
… Shall I go on?
Hard truth alert incoming. Just because your pick doesn’t win a race does not mean the other side cheated. What is everyone in kindergarten or something? Losing partisans often cope with hard losses by blaming anyone but their own team (or themselves.) I’m getting really tired of it, especially from “leaders” within institutions. I’ve been told there once was a time when leaders had integrity. I was always taught to fess up to a mistake, to not blame others for my circumstances. It is blindingly obvious to me why the Republican brand is so underwater right now and why we are failing to capture a majority of voters in key areas that would give us electoral victory. #1 We aren’t running the right candidates, #2 our message tone and language choices need tweaking, and honestly, #3 tone aside our key issues are wack.
Candidate and Campaign Integrity
Forget election integrity. I want candidate integrity! That’s the bigger issue for me. Is election integrity really the most pressing issue in your life right now? Are you up at night worried about election integrity? I’d hope not, because we have a really great voting system that literally any voter could become engaged with today. You know where transparency issues and fraud pops up the most? In areas of the country that are very blue or very red and where there aren’t enough regular citizens willing to be a part of the process to check one-party-rule corruption that might occur. If you are really concerned with election integrity then I suggest you volunteer or get involved with your upcoming local election officials. If you see people perpetuating harmful myths that there is widespread voter fraud across every state and locality in America, put a stop to it. Widespread, bad. Unique isolated cases, fair game. No one is saying fraud doesn’t happen. But lack of honesty and integrity is a much more widespread problem we face daily by our political leaders that actually does impact our daily life and mental wellbeing.
If the voting system is rigged, who does that benefit? If you answered, “the winner” you’re missing another beneficiary: the loser. If Trump lost like every other republican presidential loser he’d have to go away, but he doesn’t want to go away. Therefore it’s not his fault and he’s got 60% of the base carrying water for his cop out claim. I need to say this, I’m not a never-trumper and I’m not an always-trumper––I was a solid sometimes-trumper. But I’m not for temper tantrums and blaming other people and just wild chaos. I know a lot of y’all love him, but he is one person and it is absolutely insane to say that I have to support him or I’m not a conservative or I’m a RINO. We have more down-ballot candidates than ever claiming their election was stolen from them. That is not a good thing for America or our future. By allowing ourselves to give Trump a pass on this we are enabling men and women across this country to follow suit. And most importantly, do not give your hard-earned money to anyone claiming they’ll be your election integrity champion, especially if they themselves claim to be the victim of a stolen election.
The Noble Truth
You have agency. Don’t let anyone convince you that you are small and insignificant. Your voice counts, your vote counts, and your efforts to live a more noble life always go noticed and have an impact.
Sarah’s Media Diet
To Listen:
The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion, By Jonathan Haidt
To Watch:
Only Murders in The Building I would just like to take this moment to thank Steve Martin and Martin Short for gracing us once again with their comic duo presence. I didn’t realize how much I needed this show. Watch it for the mystery stay for the laughs.
Nine Perfect Strangers is definitely a tense thriller, which isn’t normally my thing, but I can’t stop watching it to figure out all the secrets! It’s weird and I know bad things are going to happen and I don’t care. It’s crack, go watch it.
To Read:
The Fourth Turning: An American Prophecy - What the Cycles of History Tell Us About America's Next Rendezvous with Destiny, By William Strauss and Neil Howe
Products I’m Loving
As a new mom I’ve discovered the insane ingredient restrictions the world of health and beauty have for pregnant and nursing mothers. Because of that I decided to splurge for my birthday and get an LED facial mask that can ease my lack-of-retinol worries in my fight against wrinkles.
The Light Salon’s Boost LED Mask
It’s pricey. But I spent all Summer researching the wide variety of LED masks out there and decided on this one for ease of use, comfort, and warranty. I also bought it through Blue Mercury which was having a 15% off sale and I got all those points to my account. Score!
I will report back in a couple of weeks with my review for those curious to know if I remain happy with my purchase.
Got any tips or topics you want us to dig into more? Shoot us an email at hello@nyafpod.com.
Until next time. LYLS,
-Sarah