politics, part one

Of course I'm writing about politics, it's the day before the election.

Prior to this election, I have not voted for any candidate. Sometimes I didn't vote at all, other times I turned in a blank ballot. I did this because I thought I could never get completely behind a candidate. I still can't. I did this as a protest to the system, but now I don't think it was any sort of an effective protest. I used to think that people, upon finding out who I had voted for, would think I agreed with that candidate on every issue. I still think people will often initially come to that conclusion, but will eventually remember that no one agrees completely with any candidate.

The thing is, I've always had a hard time being interested in politics on a national level. There's so much bullsh!t to wade through, and I don't have the interest to make enough time to arrive at a proper conclusion. My interest is much more in the personal relationships I have. Not just sticking with the relationships I've already got, but developing new ones. I think of it, in part, as politics at a personal level. I have no problem being interested in that sort of politics.

So why did I vote this election? It's not really because either of the candidates (I hate that the system makes it valid to use "either" like this), although it is a bit because of the current president. It's mostly because of my own personal growth. I think that my previous ideals, while still here, were carried out in an immature way. Our government is one place, I think, where we need to try to change from within. I think I'm much more equipped to be active in politics on a personal level, but those who have the interest and ability should try to change things at the broader levels.