politics
Welcome to the discussion of US Politics!
Rules:
- Post only links to articles, Title must fairly describe link contents. If your title differs from the site’s, it should only be to add context or be more descriptive. Do not post entire articles in the body or in the comments.
Links must be to the original source, not an aggregator like Google Amp, MSN, or Yahoo.
Example:
- Articles must be relevant to politics. Links must be to quality and original content. Articles should be worth reading. Clickbait, stub articles, and rehosted or stolen content are not allowed. Check your source for Reliability and Bias here.
- Be civil, No violations of TOS. It’s OK to say the subject of an article is behaving like a (pejorative, pejorative). It’s NOT OK to say another USER is (pejorative). Strong language is fine, just not directed at other members. Engage in good-faith and with respect! This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban.
- No memes, trolling, or low-effort comments. Reposts, misinformation, off-topic, trolling, or offensive. Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.
- Vote based on comment quality, not agreement. This community aims to foster discussion; please reward people for putting effort into articulating their viewpoint, even if you disagree with it.
- No hate speech, slurs, celebrating death, advocating violence, or abusive language. This will result in a ban. Usernames containing racist, or inappropriate slurs will be banned without warning
We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.
All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.
That's all the rules!
Civic Links
• Congressional Awards Program
• Library of Congress Legislative Resources
• U.S. House of Representatives
Partnered Communities:
• News
view the rest of the comments
Dude...
You can't say the presidential election doesn't matter.
I fully agree with the sentiment that not enough people are concerned enough with their local and state elected officials. We get far too caught up in the national news headlines, or the news in states thousands of miles away, now thanks to our increasingly connected lives. The onslaught of media coverage is distracting and dividing. Yeah, 10000% agree with this.
That doesn't mean the commander in chief and leader of our country is irrelevant. It doesn't mean you should "sit it out". It's difficult to leave individuals out of the conversation to keep this civil but we're in a unique time where a twice impeached president who has said and done things that are difficult to defend as "presidential" or even moral is up for election again. This year, I'd argue that the presidential election matters more than your local election.
As for the electoral college, most of the people who have an issue with this lack the understanding of why this was established and how it functions as a tool of a representative democracy. That's not to say it's flawless but it's worked without issue for nearly 250 years. I see it as a very, very low priory of things that need reform.
I'd also submit that people need to be more supportive their local newspapers. Far too many are crumbling and getting bought up by national organizations and tilting the narrative. Read your newspapers - not just the front page of their website, not just their social media posts. Discuss local politics with your friends and neighbors. Ask the newspaper if they could investigate something. We have not held the fourth pillar of democracy to the standards that best interest us. And I'd argue it's because we simply don't care enough about the news than we do entertainment. People are afraid of the real news but there's a lot more to it than drugs and crime.
Pretty sure I didn't say it didn't matter. It's just that your vote and engagement at the local level are more effective than making everything about the presidential contest. I'm attempting to shift the conversation to topics that don't just de-moralize people and enforce the all-too-easy feelings of helplessness that engenders.
It feels good to spend a weekend knocking on doors doing get-out-the-vote efforts for a school board candidate you actually know and support, especially when the race ends up hinging on about 80 votes. Arguing in a circular firing squad about only the presidency just leaves everyone frustrated and no minds are changed.