Why are people so aloof to politics ?

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LUClEN
LUClEN Members Posts: 20,559 ✭✭✭✭✭
Based on a lot of observations, particularly of the behavior of the youth, but also on adults as well. Inspired by this exact post:
I miss this lupe. he wasn't on that extreme political ? , and when he wanted to rap about an issue, he spit about it and that was it, didn;t have none of these antics on twitter or whatever. He starting to become like one of those smart dumb ? on your facebook page that's always rambling about something.


What is wrong with having a concern for politics? I do not understand why the general consensus is that politics are boring or don't matter. This is how poor leaders end up in positions of power.

Do you have young people in your life that just don't give a ? about politics? Do you know why it is?

It does not make sense to me how we can have a section of the forum dedicated to men drooling over scantily clad females receive more participation than a section that deals strictly with the ideas and events that shape our world today.
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  • blakfyahking
    blakfyahking Members Posts: 15,785 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    bruh..........this bugs me same way how most people are just as uninterested in topics about business

    people don't like to read and/or think unfortunately



    it's like that movie "Idiocracy" is coming to fruition slowly but surely SMH
  • LUClEN
    LUClEN Members Posts: 20,559 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    I haven't seen that movie but from the summary it sounds brilliant. Got Utorrent open right now so I can peep it tonight.

    I think what bugs me the most about it, is how there is an idea that not only is it uncool to be interested in these kinds of topics, but that it is cool to be completely revolted by them.

    Where does this come from? Who started this trend? Is this an effect of the marketing tactics employed by major corporations that want to keep the population uneducated so that they are easier to appeal to as consumer?

  • BiblicalAtheist
    BiblicalAtheist Members Posts: 15,668 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited December 2012
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    Welcome to Costco, I love you.
  • LUClEN
    LUClEN Members Posts: 20,559 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    .IRS. wrote: »
    Welcome to Costco, I love you.

    Does not compute
  • BiblicalAtheist
    BiblicalAtheist Members Posts: 15,668 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited December 2012
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    From Idiocracy, you really gotta check it out.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8zNsUTWsOc
  • jono
    jono Members Posts: 30,280 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    There's a lot of reasons why. People are constantly bombarded with images and advertisements that are distractions from the important things in life. They are disillusioned with politics and politicians, many don't think their vote or opinion matters and so they have no opinion and they don't vote. Those are just a few reasons.
  • janklow
    janklow Members, Moderators Posts: 8,613 Regulator
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    RodrigueZz wrote: »
    What is wrong with having a concern for politics?
    well, in THIS case it sounds more like a concern for Lupe Fiasco devoting himself to making ? records

  • perspective@100
    perspective@100 Members Posts: 1,862 ✭✭✭✭
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    Your vote does not count last time I checked. Politicains have power and "we the people" are just sheep in their system. Nothing can change that, so it is hopeless.
    janklow wrote: »
    RodrigueZz wrote: »
    What is wrong with having a concern for politics?
    well, in THIS case it sounds more like a concern for Lupe Fiasco devoting himself to making ? records

    Lupe Fiasco - Food and Liquor II The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1 [2012]

    Actually pretty damn good...

    The person who posted the comment about Lupe is just tired of hearing that change BS, cuz nothing has or will change.

  • janklow
    janklow Members, Moderators Posts: 8,613 Regulator
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    Lupe Fiasco - Food and Liquor II The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1 [2012]
    Actually pretty damn good...
    i am going to admit i have given this record 0% of my time, but i think we can agree that he had a nice period of being an inconsistent whiner even if that record doesn't suck

  • LUClEN
    LUClEN Members Posts: 20,559 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    The reason the Lupe comment got to me was the poster presented his disdain for Lupe as if it was based entirely on his desire to discuss politics on his records. As if politics taint that which is good with its horribleness.
  • LUClEN
    LUClEN Members Posts: 20,559 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    SN, why do you dislike Lupe, Jank?
  • perspective@100
    perspective@100 Members Posts: 1,862 ✭✭✭✭
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    RodrigueZz wrote: »
    The reason the Lupe comment got to me was the poster presented his disdain for Lupe as if it was based entirely on his desire to discuss politics on his records. As if politics taint that which is good with its horribleness.

    The Lupe comment is fustration. Lupe is a good rap artist, but honestly his rap wont change a thing. So what is the point of devoting your whole album and style and subject matter to something that wont make a difference. This is not the 70's where music had a political voice. Hell this aint even the 90's with Public Enemy. Politics don't matter anymore because they are just puppets for corporations. Lupe want to make a difference he better learn how to make a ? load of money.
    janklow wrote: »
    Lupe Fiasco - Food and Liquor II The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1 [2012]
    Actually pretty damn good...
    i am going to admit i have given this record 0% of my time, but i think we can agree that he had a nice period of being an inconsistent whiner even if that record doesn't suck

    In what way was he inconsistent?

    Damn, how am I defending Lupe? I dont even really like him.
  • LUClEN
    LUClEN Members Posts: 20,559 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited December 2012
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    Songs don't change situations, but people do. Songs can change opinion, mind states and perspectives. These things in turn can influence the behavior of individuals. Behavior affects situations. By way of logic I have proven that songs can indirectly affect situations.

    Also, music that turns profit arguably has a tendency to have negative affects.


    If the line of thinking really is "things won't change, thus politics are pointless" then why even still entertain the idea of voting? Why show pride in living in a democracy at all? Might as well staple blind folds to our faces and swear in a supreme dictator now.

    Damn, I hate that argument as much as I hate the apathy of my generation
  • perspective@100
    perspective@100 Members Posts: 1,862 ✭✭✭✭
    edited December 2012
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    @Rodriguezz,

    Politicians created the system to give the people an illusion of power.
    People are pretty much lulled to sleep thinking oh at least I voted and I tryed and that makes sh*t ok.
    Truthfully its not ok. Your vote does not count. If you want change, music, and asking, and voting, is not the way to make it happen.

    Things will change, for the worse. Politics does have a point, but it is "not to change anything". Why would they? They have all the power... The only time politics really matter is when big money is involved. Even then, Politicians will take the tax payers last dollar to pay off corrupt corporate bankers. If a business can be too big to fail then who is really in charge?

    Fact of the matter is with this government nothing will change or happen until people start dying.

    Side note: Lupe does not vote...
  • Plutarch
    Plutarch Members Posts: 3,239 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited December 2012
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    Heh, for some reason now I really want to know who said that quote in the op. But whoever that is, I think that I agree with him. I think that ts might be misconstruing what he was really saying. I don't think that he was anti-politics. I think that he was just anti-Lupe-being-one-of-those-attention-? /pretentious-cats-that-try-to be-the-politically-edgy-and-morally-upstanding-Malcolm-type-character-but-really-end-up-being-a-pseudo-pundit. And I agree. I hate those kind of self-righteous people.

    I actually think that many Americans are very political. Some people/friends won't even talk politics because they know they'd be swinging if one's a Democrat and the other is a Republican. Politics can't even be talked about in many workplaces. So I think that America is very political. So you can breathe a sigh of relief.

    As for young people, it'? or miss. But what do you expect from young people? Some of them aren't even old enough to vote. Young people eventually get into politics when they grow older. That's just natural. As we get older, we gain responsibilities and grow to become more involved as representative citizen.s And this drives us to at least be interested in politics. I wouldn't think that there would be a huge discrepancy between the number of young Americans interested in politics vs the number of young people interested in politics in other stable, Western democracies. You can't and shouldn't put too much hope in young people.

    But I share your frustration. We're just part of a large minority of our generation who realized a little too early just how important politics is. I personally think that politics is one of the few most important things, if not the most important thing in the country since it basically determines everything in our country. But in addition to what everyone else said, there are issues that make things complicated. Young people might be so busy with school, work, bills, kids, etc to have the time to be politically active. And there's also the fact that there is a lot of stupid people in politics. And also the fact that the American political system is incredibly and sometimes unnecessarily complicated. When you have to vote for someone to vote for someone to vote for someone, you feel so removed from the process that you don't even feel represented. It's a downer.
    @Rodriguezz,

    Politicians created the system to give the people an illusion of power.
    People are pretty much lulled to sleep thinking oh at least I voted and I tryed and that makes sh*t ok.
    Truthfully its not ok. Your vote does not count. If you want change, music, and asking, and voting, is not the way to make it happen.

    Things will change, for the worse. Politics does have a point, but it is "not to change anything". Why would they? They have all the power... The only time politics really matter is when big money is involved. Even then, Politicians will take the tax payers last dollar to pay off corrupt corporate bankers. If a business can be too big to fail then who is really in charge?

    Fact of the matter is with this government nothing will change or happen until people start dying.

    Side note: Lupe does not vote...

    I mostly disagree with you here. The power is all in the hands of the people. We're just too stupid to realize the full potential of this fact.

    The government can be ? , but you can't blame everything on the government. The people must hold themselves accountable as well.

    So change is very possible, and we don't necessarily need a ? war for it to happen. Americans are known for being ? when it comes to standing up for our rights, but there are plenty of ways to stand up for our rights without so much letting off a shot. The Revolution of 1800 happened right here in America, and nobody got killed.
  • janklow
    janklow Members, Moderators Posts: 8,613 Regulator
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    RodrigueZz wrote: »
    The reason the Lupe comment got to me was the poster presented his disdain for Lupe as if it was based entirely on his desire to discuss politics on his records. As if politics taint that which is good with its horribleness.
    a fair concern
    RodrigueZz wrote: »
    SN, why do you dislike Lupe, Jank?
    01. he's a combination of talented and prone to wasting his talent
    02. well, this quote might work:
    Plutarch wrote: »
    Lupe-being-one-of-those-attention-? /pretentious-cats-that-try-to be-the-politically-edgy-and-morally-upstanding-Malcolm-type-character-but-really-end-up-being-a-pseudo-pundit. And I agree. I hate those kind of self-righteous people.

    THAT
    In what way was he inconsistent?
    albums that lurch from terrible to good from track to track; i admit there's going to be a degree of personal preference here
  • TheIraq
    TheIraq Members Posts: 5,527 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited December 2012
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    People prefer to watch and talk about "Real Housewives", "Keeping up with the Kardashians", "Love and Hip Hop", or the other mindless tv shows that require zero thinking and if you ask them about politics they will say they don't follow politics because it's boring.... They will probably probably pay attention to politics or whats going on in politics if their favorite reality star mentions it on twitter or if they mention it on TMZ.... Popular culture supercedes 95 percent of Americans thoughts and beliefs, whether people choice to believe it or not.... I'm not saying every channel on tv needs to be about politics but reality shows have and continue to contribute to the dumbing down of this American society....

    Everybody wants to be a star and celebrity and not many are coming up with new and innovative ideas about how to make this a better country... It's all about me, myself, and I.... So politics are the last thing on peoples mind....



  • UnderMiSensi
    UnderMiSensi Members Posts: 955 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Your vote does not count last time I checked. Politicains Corporations have power and "we the people" are just sheep in their system. Nothing Unity and organization can change leverage that, so it is not hopeless.

    Fixed

  • powerman 5000
    powerman 5000 Members Posts: 3,084 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited December 2012
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    you don't have to look far to get answers. Just look at the people involved. I don't give a ? about politics, and I don't watch tv. You can find me in my garage tuning my Diesel engine that runs on bio fuels or researching sustainable living, though. I feel the same way about science and math as you feel about politics. There's not even a forum on here for that stuff. Everyone has subjects that are important to them, i guess. I guess the last straw for me was Monsanto patenting seeds. WHY is that even possible.
  • irad4185
    irad4185 Members Posts: 105 ✭✭
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    I don't think it's all that strange. I bet if Lupe started rapping in French he'd probably throw off his english speaking fans.
    @Rodriguezz,

    Politicians created the system to give the people an illusion of power.
    People are pretty much lulled to sleep thinking oh at least I voted and I tryed and that makes sh*t ok.
    Truthfully its not ok. Your vote does not count. If you want change, music, and asking, and voting, is not the way to make it happen.

    Things will change, for the worse. Politics does have a point, but it is "not to change anything". Why would they? They have all the power... The only time politics really matter is when big money is involved. Even then, Politicians will take the tax payers last dollar to pay off corrupt corporate bankers. If a business can be too big to fail then who is really in charge?

    Fact of the matter is with this government nothing will change or happen until people start dying.

    Side note: Lupe does not vote...

    So you saying the end of slavery, women's right and all that other ? happened not because people fought for them. Roas Parks. MLK. History has shown that if you want change you will have to fight for it because change and resistance is like 2 peas in a pod.
  • PiffyHaze
    PiffyHaze Members Posts: 1,906 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    i talk politics & business with my folks. It people choice thou to enter any forum and talk about what they want.
  • perspective@100
    perspective@100 Members Posts: 1,862 ✭✭✭✭
    edited December 2012
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    Plutarch wrote: »
    I mostly disagree with you here. The power is all in the hands of the people. We're just too stupid to realize the full potential of this fact.

    The government can be ? , but you can't blame everything on the government. The people must hold themselves accountable as well.

    So change is very possible, and we don't necessarily need a ? war for it to happen. Americans are known for being ? when it comes to standing up for our rights, but there are plenty of ways to stand up for our rights without so much letting off a shot. The Revolution of 1800 happened right here in America, and nobody got killed.

    I don't think we are too stupid. I just think the people as a whole are too easily manipulated by our so called leaders.
    You say the people must hold themselves accountable. Why? We did not create this system, but we are forced to live in it.


    janklow wrote: »
    albums that lurch from terrible to good from track to track; i admit there's going to be a degree of personal preference here

    I'm done defending Lupe... lol
    Your vote does not count last time I checked. Corporations have power and "we the people" are just sheep in their system. Money talks and ? walks...

    Re-Fixed

    [/quote]
    irad4185 wrote: »
    So you saying the end of slavery, women's right and all that other ? happened not because people fought for them. Roas Parks. MLK. History has shown that if you want change you will have to fight for it because change and resistance is like 2 peas in a pod.

    People fighting for change vs fighting to change the government are two totally different things. No one ever talks about how are government operates. Officials constantly being involved in ethically immoral scandals. The blatant mockery of its own power. Have you ever seen these guys police themselves? Just buffoonery. My point is our system is slow and ineffective and I'm ready for a new one. Out with the old and in with the new.

  • Plutarch
    Plutarch Members Posts: 3,239 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    I don't think we are too stupid. I just think the people as a whole are too easily manipulated by our so called leaders.

    I was using "stupid" mostly in the same sense as "ignorant," and I'm using "ignorant" as in not fully knowing our rights, our history, our political system, our nation's real problems and solutions to these problems, etc. And with all of this ignorance, it's easy for the overwhelming majority of us to be easily manipulated. So I kind of equate stupidity/ignorance with being too easily manipulated. I think that if we educate ourselves with the necessary knowledge to take away our ignorance, then we can actually effect a good change. All this might sound naive, but I truly think it's very practical.
    You say the people must hold themselves accountable. Why? We did not create this system, but we are forced to live in it.

    1. We didn't create the Earth or our lives, but we must hold ourselves accountable for what we do to the Earth or what we do to our lives right? Regardless of whatever circumstance, you can either remain hopeless about your messed up situation or actually do something about it, right?

    2. I think that we actually did create this system, or at least allowed it to operate either by standing by doing nothing (as in being apolitical) or by functioning within the system to reinforce it (as in voting exclusively in a "two-party system" that offers two bad candidates). We have the tools to change this system (and we surely have the numbers, and after all it's the American people who define the American government). We just need the willpower.

  • powerman 5000
    powerman 5000 Members Posts: 3,084 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    you don't have to look far to get answers. Just look at the people involved. I don't give a ? about politics, and I don't watch tv. You can find me in my garage tuning my Diesel engine that runs on bio fuels or researching sustainable living, though. I feel the same way about science and math as you feel about politics. There's not even a forum on here for that stuff. Everyone has subjects that are important to them, i guess. I guess the last straw for me was Monsanto patenting seeds. WHY is that even possible.

    video translation......
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=csSw3fYnICc
    
  • perspective@100
    perspective@100 Members Posts: 1,862 ✭✭✭✭
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    Plutarch wrote: »

    2. I think that we actually did create this system, or at least allowed it to operate either by standing by doing nothing (as in being apolitical) or by functioning within the system to reinforce it (as in voting exclusively in a "two-party system" that offers two bad candidates). We have the tools to change this system (and we surely have the numbers, and after all it's the American people who define the American government). We just need the willpower.

    So somehow the people who choose not to participate in this machine get blame? Nope, I can't accept that. Its all you people who are so called "involved"... Your not doing your job effectively enough to get the masses to back what is right vs what is wrong. Change does not happen at 50/50... When moral topics come about and we see that the top 1 percent are holding all the wealth in America, but somehow they still manage to hold off on being taxed not more but even at the same level as everyone else I just call ridiculousness and turn my back. There is no passion in bringing down this monster of poor leadership. Only compromise and back door money exchanges.

    I believe it would be more effective if no one voted vs having the 2 party split nonsense continue. Show the peoples true will that this fuckery must stop.