Unfortunately, however, while I may not want anything to do with politics, politics absolutely wants everything to do with me. I mean… politics literally runs the country. Every law, every tax, every regulation, every court case, etc, is determined by our country’s leaders, whom we vote into office. At least, that’s the simplistic way of explaining how the US government usually works. Keyword: usually. 

Unfortunately, we live in very perilous times, at the moment. What we’re currently living though isn’t necessarily new for our country. However, what does make today’s chaos “new” is the fact that social media and the 24/7 partisan infotainment- er I mean- news cycle, exist, which do nothing but stoke the flames of division and tribalism in this country. 

As much as I try to avoid partisan mainstream news, I do occasionally come across newsfeeds from partisan news networks such as CNN and Fox. From what I’ve gathered, both places live in entirely separate realities; realities in which the “other side” is dehumanized and called evil. “They’re coming for your guns!” and “They’re coming for your ballots!” are just a couple inflammatory statements I’ve heard from mainstream news networks. The internet is full of much, much, much worse. 

Honestly, such inflammatory statements are not only wildly exaggerated (at best), but they motivate people to act out in very scary and violent ways. That’s actually a small, but still significant reason why I decided to turn in my ballot as soon as possible. Sure, voting in Colorado is extremely safe and easy, even on election day itself. But, I’ve decided to play it safer still this election, by turning in my ballot within a couple days of getting it. 

To be continued…