I’ve had enough. After this post, I am resolving not to post anything explicitly political here, on Facebook, on Twitter, or the intertubes in general for an unspecified amount of time.
This comes after steadily increasing frustration over the general political climate of the country. It has become apparent that genuine ideas – be they liberal, conservative, or somewhere delightfully in between – have taken a back seat to political posturing and dismissing ideas out of hand for “trampling our Constitution” or “being intellectually unworthy.”
I’m in the field of ideas. And if any part of his speech last night was true, then so is President Obama. But when I see people on Facebook dismissing Obama’s ideas before he can even finish explaining them – for no other apparent reason than that they’ve had their minds made up about him before he even ran for President – it’s demoralizing, frustrating, and ultimately not worth my time to engage in a thoughtful discussion.
Primarily because “thoughtful” discussions are a rare occurrence these days, on a landscape punctuated almost exclusively by stale talking points, vapid pandering, and rock-solid prejudgments.
I had originally planned to institute a No-[Former Alaska Governer]-Month as part of my upcoming Lenten resolution, but in the wake of yesterday’s State of the Union – and the subsequent fallout – I have decided not only to move that resolution up to today, but broaden it to encompass all online political discussions. If you want my opinion, contact me personally somehow. On the veritable stage that is the Internet, I refuse to stoop to the rabble that is entirely without purpose or meaning.
Yes, I’m one of those annoying believers in utility: if it doesn’t have a point, then I don’t see its point (I’m also a deadly combination of Kantian morals with Nietzschean outlook). If your polarized and one-sided political discourse does nothing but rally folks who already supported you and alienate those who already disagreed, then I have one message for you:
Theatre of Consciousness 
I have an even better subject line for this entry. It has nothing to do with … err, that topic you cannot speak of, but still has a theatrical quality I think you’ll like.
Behold! The best stage direction ever found in a play:
“Exit, pursued by a bear”
(Shakepeare’s ‘Winter’s Tale,’ in case you were wondering.
And this comment has nothing whatsoever to do with this post. But I feel like that’s still in the general spirit of your point here, yes? 😛
Oh Shakespeare, you old bard you. That’s freaking awesome 🙂
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