Politics is fraught with emotions. Every two years politicians advertise themselves and try to manipulate (sadly often successfully) people to vote for them and even donate to their campaigns.
Every election is a monumental waste of resources that could have been allocated to far more important issues; instead those resources are wasted on the (already monumentally large) ego’s of politicians. Why do we feed into the delusions of the so-called representatives of society? (How the sovereignty of any individual can be represented by a person, much less entire towns or cities is a question for another time.) All that is accomplished is create much angst and woe; friends become foes, families are broken apart, and society fractures further.
If you can and want to vote, you should do so. But if politics is upsetting and even slightly negatively effecting you? Ignore the elections and focus on yourself. Not voting is in itself a vote; the action represents a disgust with the candidates and/or the toxicity of the system as a whole. There are ways to be democratic outside of voting, and I would argue those ways are far more meaningful and impactful.
Instead of voting angrily and playing into the inflammatory language game of politicians, relax, make new friends, or find a new hobby. Politics is important, but you and your community are far more important.
In short, don’t support the toxic eco system of politics unless you aren’t harmed by it. Judging by the increasingly poisonous rhetoric surrounding politics and the rate of negative polarization, however, I think society would do well to take politicians a little less seriously, and themselves a little more seriously.
Thanks! Much appreciation for your reply and I look forward to hearing your arguments on this. (Q: what's a substack post?)
Yeah... DON'T VOTE! That'll really show 'em! Let's put ourselves under a Monarchy or even a Dictator. It's so much less stressful on human beings than having to, what, VOTE? Why you don't even have to THINK about your condition! (You need to retract this vacuous piece of crap article immediately!)