Not My Thing

I'm sure we all know people who rarely have much to say about current foreign or domestic policy. When someone brings up a discussion of law or policymaking in the nation's capitol or even state government, these individuals will say that "politics is not my thing." If pressed, these folks will tell you that they don't concern themselves with such "high brow" issues; they simply choose to live their lives on a more personal basis and pay little attention to what is going on in the rest of the world.

While the national and international issues of the day may not be foremost in our minds as we go about our daily routines, it is difficult to be completely divorced from them. They often permeate our individual lives in ways that are not immediately apparent.

This is one of the underlying points in a study recently released that "finds a strange link between terrorist fearmongering and the impulse for corporal punishment." According to researchers,

With the recent discovery of explosives hidden in cargo airplanes, fears of a terrorist attack have returned to the front of many people’s minds. If the past is any indication, this sense of apprehension is likely to make us less trusting of outsiders, and less tolerant of those who violate social norms.

What’s more, it may also make us bad parents.

That’s the implication of research published in the November issue of the journal Social Psychology. A team of scholars led by Peter Fischer of the University of Graz in Austria reports thoughts of terrorism seem to inspire authoritarian parenting practices.

Parents who are exposed to terrorist threats “are reminded about the dangers existing out in the world, which makes them more motivated to ensure their children’s safety,” the researchers write. Unfortunately, the way they respond to this natural impulse may have long-term negative implications for their kids...

While it appears that this research focused exclusively on the aspects of perceived fear as the result of terrorist acts and threats themselves, I would submit that similar results would be found in relation to how each nation deals with these acts and threats. My guess is that a nation such as the US -- one that fans the flames of fear for political purposes -- exacerbates the problem significantly.

This is why I often argue with folks that politics matters.

What goes on in the halls of Congress or the Oval Office impacts our lives whether we wish to acknowledge it or not. And that is why everyday people should involve themselves in the political process in one form or another. If we leave this involvement solely to others, then THEIR decisions can negatively impact the way our lives -- and the lives of our progeny and future generations -- pan out.