How do we decide who to vote for? Do we vote for who our parents vote for? Do we research each candidate and their individual policy plans and try to make the best informed decision possible? While these are all plausible answers, there is something else that invariably must be taken into account…personal experiences. More often than not, people are going to engage in politics because of something that either personally happened to them, or because they want something to change that will personally make their lives better. Of course people are going to be more likely to go out and vote if they believe that it will better their own lives…so to get people more politically engaged we should ask them to think/talk about their own personal political stories?
This egocentric approach to voting is one that I find very interesting, and one that makes complete sense if you think about it. Under this argument, I would say that people focus on themselves to explain and understand public policy issues, for example I would think that because I changed all the light bulbs in my house to CFL’s, I am going to only vote for someone that is environmentally conscious, and further, I believe that because I have had this experience, everyone else has too. That is one flaw with this egocentric approach to politics…just because it helped you, does not mean that it will help everyone else. Not only do people make policy decisions based on their own experiences, but they also collect data through personal experiences. For example, if I have a friend that lived in New Orleans and her home still has not been re-built, I would assume that most houses in New Orleans have also not been re-built and that the government is doing nothing. I find this point slightly scary. I am not sure how I feel about people using their experiences to gather data and make assumptions about certain situations…but I also do understand that this is human nature.
People are definitely most engaged or passionate about something when it directly affects, or has affected, them…whether that be politics or what have you. While I understand this egocentric approach from a voter’s point of view, I am not sure how comforting it is. Of course you want to use your own opinions to make a decision, but you should also be informed about what is going on in the world around you. Also, I am afraid that this approach to politics makes people even more cynical than they already are about Washington and the people running this country. Everyone has a grievance but never anything positive to say in return. It gets old hearing everyone complain about how the government screwed them over, or how the President is running this country into the ground. While I may agree, I wish that politics could have a brighter outlook. I wish that people were still idealistic enough to believe that they can change things in this country, that there is an optimistic future ahead of us. However, I think that as long as voters are only thinking about themselves this will never happen. We have to start thinking about the bigger picture and our fellow citizens, not just what we want. With all this being said, I do have faith for the future...and I hope everyone else does too.
2 comments:
I wholeheartedly agree. I liked your comments that showed a realistic perspective on why some people are inclined to be egocentric voters with the best inentions, but I also sympathize with your hope for a brighter outlook.
I'm tired of hope, integrity and honor being equated to naievte and inexpierence. We need more progressive bipartisan politics with a healthy dose of citzen action and less of this 'playing the Washington game' bullshit.
I think this egocentric thing is so interesting to, I wish we would have had mroe time with it. I don't think it is necessarily a bad thing, but an argument that is egocentric should be a starting point and then more research should be done. However, I think it is often more an end point instead.
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