Why it's OK To Ignore Politics

Since the election, left-leaning people have been bellyaching on social media.

What has this accomplished? Trump is still president! Elon is still running DOGE! Well, it makes them feel better, I guess.

Actually, it doesn’t. It makes them feel worse, and it makes everyone around them feel worse, too.

So why do it? That’s my calculus.

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I will say something controversial: if politics affects your mood in any way, positive or negative, you are a psychologically unhealthy person. For a bunch of reasons, but the biggest one is this: is any of this within your control? No, it is not. So you’re going to allow things that are outside your control to make you miserable? Got it.

And certainly, this is not specific to liberals. The conservatives were just as, if not more insane when Obama won in 2008. And if you’re spiking the football on the results of an election, shame on you for that.

There is a saying that if you don’t take an interest in politics, politics will take an interest in you. I mostly disagree with this. I don’t take an interest in politics, and politics has never taken an interest in me. And if AOC gets elected president in 2028, my one vote against her is not going to make a difference, so again, this falls into the category of things that are entirely out of my control—and therefore not worth even thinking about.

I’ll also point out that very little of what happens in politics at the federal or national level ever trickles down to you. How, exactly, is Trump affecting your life? I mean, sure, there are going to be hundreds of thousands of government workers laid off, and politics will take an interest in them. And I suppose politics will take an interest in the handful of trans people trying to play women’s basketball. But the reality is that most of what goes on in Washington has no effect on you whatsoever. You may disagree with it in principle, but it has no bearing on your life. So again: tell me why you are so upset again, about this dude in D.C. who is signing these executive orders that don’t affect you in any way whatsoever, and you grab your pitchfork and head over to Facebook and make everyone miserable? Sounds like a good plan.

My angle here is always mental health. For the billionth time on this blog, do you want to be right, or do you want to be happy? Maybe you feel right when you post on Twitter because all your like-minded friends agree with you. But all the people who don’t like your posts probably think you’re a jagoff. Whenever I see someone posting about politics on social media, I say to myself, that’s unfortunate, and keep on scrolling. Politics isn’t something that affects my mood. Then again, there is nothing that really affects my mood. I am more or less happy all the time, which is distinct from the idea that I think the country might be going in the right or wrong direction, but it doesn’t make me happy or sad. If something makes you happy or sad, it’s because you gave it the power to make you happy or sad. You have ceded control of your mood to Donald J. Trump. Donald J. Trump is living in your head rent-free. You have a burning resentment against Donald J. Trump. Is this really the way to go through life? Dan Bongino used to go on Twitter every day and say that Biden was the worst president ever. Every single day. Now, that is kind of his job, and I’m sure he has an inside voice and an outside voice, but that is a terrible way to live. Sad for four years, happy for four years. Great job. This is the way this game works: my guy gets to win for a while, your guy gets to win for a while. Jesus H. Christ, relax.

I think the word I am looking for is “apoplectic.” People are apoplectic. You never want to be apoplectic. There was a whole group of people online who turned their profile pictures black, because…they’re in mourning? That Trump won? Holy hell, go outside and touch grass. Trump has done a lot in his first three weeks, and you know what? Even if he operated at this pace for the next four years, it would have practically no impact on your life. Also, maybe it would make things…better, in some ways? My hope when Biden was elected was that he would not do too much damage, and that turned out to be the case. The Inflation Reduction Act, and a few pieces of horrible legislation, but that was all he could manage. Not like in 2008 when Al Franken cheated his way into becoming the 60^th Democratic vote, they rammed through Obamacare on a filibuster-proof majority, everyone thought it would be the end of the world, and…it turned out not to be the end of the world! It did some good things! It made insurance companies a hell of a lot richer, but coming from someone with a pre-existing condition, the fact that there previously was no insurance market for people with pre-existing conditions, and we created one, was actually a positive development. Wrong way to go about it, and expensive, but again—not the end of the world. And nothing any president will do is the end of the world. Hey, maybe you’ll have a lower tax bill and we’ll balance the budget! These are good things, right? People just completely lose perspective on this stuff. And karma had Al Franken’s address, anyway.

Easy for me to say, because my guy won, right? Well, Trump isn’t exactly my guy, but I’d rather have Trump than Harris. I’d prefer someone with more libertarian leanings. But if it is that or a 45% top marginal rate and wealth taxes and financial transactions taxes (something that really would impact my life), I will take Trump and his authoritarianism. You could not log into Twitter of Facebook or TikTok or turn on the news or read a newspaper, and you know what you’d be? Happier! People internalize this stuff and it lives in every cell in their body, the anger, the anxiety, and it is debilitating—it eliminates their capacity for joy. At least we have term limits! Think of the poor Republicans in FDR’s four terms. Talk about swimming through an ocean of diarrhea.

On my deathbed, I will have regretted every second I spent fighting about politics. All of it. Politics is aggression—it’s about trying to hurt other people. Not for me. I have a cockroach living in my medicine cabinet. Can’t bring myself to kill it. He’ll die of old age before I get around to it. You should see what I think of the profession of journalism, but that is for another day.

It's funny—I’ve been spending less and less time on Twitter lately. Days go by where I don’t log in. I’m happier! What can I say? I spend about two minutes on there and I feel my stress level going up. Sure, everyone likes a good quote-tweet dunk, but I can’t bring myself to behave this way towards other people. Let’s say I want to make a political point on Twitter—have I convinced anyone of anything? Do all the liberals and conservatives going to war on Twitter every day convince anyone of anything? Most people, including myself, are not persuadable. Basically, it’s a competition to see who can come up with the cleverest riposte. Seems like a good use of time to me. There are plenty of other things I’d rather be doing with my life. The only redeeming quality of Twitter is that it remains the undisputed champion of where to get real-time news.

Do you want to be right, or do you want to be happy? Let’s say you choose the former. Good luck? Maybe get back to me in four years with a list of what you actually accomplished. Yes, I am suggesting that we are all impotent. Yes, I am suggesting that one person can’t make a difference. Yes, I am just that cynical. But deep down—do you disagree with me? Do you think that your rage-posting on social media is going to make a difference? Not only will it not make a difference, it is counterproductive, because, chances are, you’re turning people off in the process. The other thing I will point out is that all the vitriol goes away when we talk to each other in person. We’re not gorilla-dunking on each other. We’re having a calm, reasoned debate—and that is how hearts and minds are won over.

So shut the fuck up. Both sides. Why don’t you focus on something else, like your family, or your pets, or your job, or making money? If everyone put as much effort into making money that they did arguing online, the world would be a much better place.