Unavoidably, I have written my strongly held opinions about politics, current events, and politicians many times over the past 6 years. Less frequently, I’ve shared a few political opinions online on Reddit and even more rarely, on the solo forum and in comments on Youtube. In real-life conversations I’ll occasionally share my political opinions when it seems appropriate.
I’ve decided to do this less – everywhere.
I have several reasons for this:
- It adds to negativity and vitriol online. Regardless of my intent, most political opinions posted online spawn immediate reactions from both sides – those who agree and those who disagree. Personal attacks, cliched arguments, pundit/party talking points and trolling always follow. It is very rare that I see an honest, open minded discussion ensue.
- Lack of facts. Lately, with the news about Trump’s chaotic “policies”, Israel’s war with Gaza and Iran, and the spin around the Big Beautiful Bill I’ve realized that I have no idea what is true and what is false. I can’t keep up with the constant onslaught of numbers, statistics, studies and research quoted about nuclear capabilities, jobs reports, Office of Management and Budget estimates, economic predictions, hyperbolic punditry and manipulative positioning of historic data. Nor is it a good use of my time doing actual research to determine which of these sources are factual since I cannot do anything about any of these issues.
- I have nothing original to contribute. Unless I have personal experience and knowledge of a situation, my opinions and positions have already been regurgitated by thousands of others. If all I am doing is adding one more “same” comment to the pile, my contribution is less than zero. It’s actually a net negative (see #1 above).
I notice this on Reddit, where I frequently scan subreddits related to podcast episodes I listen to. Sometimes there is thoughtful and helpful discourse. But that’s never the case when politics are mentioned. It just turns into a morass of sh*t, smugness, trolling and attacks.
That’s not a good place for me to be.
I’m out.