Politics for the Rest of Us

Here is your permission to participate in this election in whatever way(s) you need.

“And every day, the world will drag you by the hand, yelling, ‘This is important! And this is important! And this is important! You need to worry about this! And this! And this!’ And each day, it’s up to you to yank your hand back, put it on your heart and say, ‘No. This is what’s important.’”

Iain Thomas

I grew up understanding the importance of politics, history, and keeping up with current events. During high school, I spent many afternoons with my dad watching the same political show. You can probably deduce which way my dad leaned politically and the news network we were watching from my Southern Baptist, fairly rural upbringing, but I don’t remember anger being either the currency of the show or my dad’s reaction to it. (Maybe this explains his transition in political practice just a few years later.) 

I dreamed of becoming a political journalist. I had plans to major in journalism and minor in political science. I loved presidential elections. I lived for the debates. I got caught up in the excitement that surrounded the ebbs and flows of political terms and election cycles just like my middle-aged dad.