Policial neutrality

Who hasn’t pondered the idea of a perfect world? We imagine what it would look like with glittering visions of world peace and vehicles that rely on nothing but oxygen to fuel them.

Who could we elect? What ideals should we uphold? How can we shift and evolve our society into a flawless, irreproachable model?

Our humanity makes this utopia unattainable.

The rigidity necessary to create this kind of society would be a bleak existence. The perfect society is the one without mistakes and thus one without freedom or choice.

What does it all mean? Where am I going with this?

It is election time again.

A time when we study the issues, candidates and try to make the best decision possible for the society we live in with the hope that this time it will be better.

I still remember my first time at the polls. It was 1978 and I was 19. California was voting for governor that year as well as attorney general and House of Representatives.

I had no idea what I was doing and at that time, didn’t understand how important my vote was. So, I checked the little boxes that my mother had told me to check. I voted the way she voted because that was all I knew.

Fast forward two years to 1980. I was 21 and lived in Maryland with my husband and my 4 month old son. My husband was in the Navy so guess who we voted for?

Another four years passed, I now had two children under the age of 5 and we are in Tennessee. My husband was still in the Navy, so again, you can guess who we voted for.

As time passed, one thing became very clear to me; voting is one of the most important tools we have as members of communities, our society and our nation. Especially in our American democracy.

We have the power to influence others and sway opinion. However, political action is a tool. Each person can either exercise their right or they can let it pass by claiming political neutrality.

People in general are not perfect political machines. We have faults, flaws and react with emotion and ignorance. Some people retreat from politics from sheer exhaustion.

The how, when and why we decide to speak up is a delicate matter. When we constantly push for every individual to “choose a side,” the result is an extreme quantity versus quality issue in political engagement.

What truly makes quality political action? Voting–one of the most undiluted forms of democracy, only comes every two years. A pure political action can be as simple as recycling or as involved as volunteering time to campaign.

So where does the quality fizzle? Some of the lowest quality of political commentary takes place over the internet and on social media.

Posting and arguing politics on social media does nothing to add meaningful worth. It only dilutes what could be progress. Perhaps we should allow someone to abstain from political conversations until they feel comfortable with expressing their political argument rather than pursuing them like a pack of dogs online.

If the last few years have taught us anything, it’s that political burnout is real. Life was complicated by what seemed an endless global pandemic. Two years later, we are still feeling the stress of 2020.

Take a break. None of us can be unguarded and outspoken all of the time. In this world of sodden content, maybe none of us should be.

Political neutrality, however, is a slippery slope.

Although political neutrality is necessary to both evolve and rejuvenate, it can also be an excuse to hide. Reality is harsh and society can be oppressive at times but we must learn from our mistakes and stay in motion our entire lives.

We are human and as such, we prefer simple. The yes or no, the for or against, the easy boxes we can put people into. Is that why we tend to push for black and white answers rather than allow a “straddle the fence” opinion?

Can we luxuriate in that gray space of neutrality, accepting that human emotion and exhaustion that stop political action are sometimes necessary? This is not an excuse for complacency, just a break from the insanity that is politics.

We are an imperfect and flawed society which can be frustrating. These qualities can breed hatred and division, but they also bring complexity and diversity into view. Even when we make bad decisions, we can continue on shaky legs. Legs that will carry us into the future with new knowledge and understanding, allowing a little more freedom and maybe we are only a millennium from the utopia we all crave.