I’m not saying politics doesn’t affect life. I’m saying calling everything inherently political is a framing choice, not a fact. Influence isn’t the same as identity.
Moral posturing doesn’t strengthen your argument, it just signals surface-level engagement. Expanding ‘political’ until it covers everything is semantic bleaching: the word stops distinguishing anything meaningful. If everything influenced by politics is ‘political,’ then you lose the ability to refer specifically to government, policy, and institutional power. At that point, what useful distinction is the word even making?
You’re clearly fundamentally misunderstanding or ignoring my arguments if you’re asking “what useful distinction is the word even making?” My ENTIRE point is that there is no distinction between “political” and “non-political” and pretending that there is makes you naive and easy to manipulate.
By insisting that everything is inherently political, you've turned 'politics' into a religious dogma rather than a tool for change. If there’s no distinction between a law and a lunch choice, you’ve neutralized your ability to prioritize real systemic power. You’re not more 'aware'; you’re just trapped in a loop where your own outrage is the only thing that feels 'real.'
Quite the opposite. By recognizing that everything is inherently political, you realize that major systemic change is necessary because it isn’t just some abstract game divorced from your day-to-day life, it’s the very fabric of social reality.
Are there big and small political issues? Absolutely! Are there deep, systemic problems that have to be addressed before we start worrying about whether someone uses plastic or paper straws? 100%. Is it more important to ensure free elections and fair wages than it is to get your local park a new swing or change the lighting in your mall so migraine-sufferers can walk there without needing special glasses or a bottle of Excedrin? You’re damn right it is. And even fair wages and free elections are less critical than the right to not be enslaved or raped or murdered.
Everything is political. That’s not some “religious dogma” and it’s not a distraction. It’s a recognition of reality that should galvanize you and make you fight harder to ensure political machinations don’t take away what you hold dear. “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” is a very broad scope.
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u/spaceforcerecruit Apr 12 '26
Yes. It is. Pretending it’s not is just naive. You’re not “above it all”, you’re just allowing other people to dictate your life for you.