(no subject)

[randomness]

From http://www.chrishayes.org/articles/decision-makers/:

The mere fact that you're reading this article right now suggests that you not only think politics is important, but you actually like it. You read the paper and listen to political radio and talk about politics at parties. In other words, you view politics the way a lot of people view cooking or sports or opera: as a hobby. Most undecided voters, by contrast, seem to view politics the way I view laundry. While I understand that to be a functioning member of society I have to do my laundry, and I always eventually get it done, I'll never do it before every last piece of clean clothing is dirty, as I find the entire business to be a chore. A significant number of undecided voters, I think, view politics in exactly this way: as a chore, a duty, something that must be done but is altogether unpleasant, and therefore something best put off for as long as possible.

Comments

[xse99.livejournal.com]

Amen to that! (politics as laundry)

[elisaana.livejournal.com]

So true! I'm one of the hobbyists (e.g. got in a long political convo with a coworker tonight, finding we disagree on most things, but still found it interesting). It's perversely gratifying to find that everyone else is "supposed" to know about and be engaged in something I follow closely. In what other realm is that true? Knowing about techniques for child-rearing or balancing a budget, or driving sanely, have the same sort of moral weight and produce the same sort of guilt in the "laundry" set, but those topics do not seem like favorites to discuss.

[elisaana.livejournal.com]

(Let me clarify that I am NOT myself similarly thrilled by, or at all expert in, child-rearing. Moderately OK on balancing a budget and driving sanely, but those are not favorite topics.)

[mmancuso.livejournal.com]

I have been known to actually buy more clothing when I was particularly resistant to laundry. (Socks, mostly.) This says enough about my laundry that my views on politics needn't even be mentioned.