Election time has come around again, and I have come to my realization that I actually know nothing1 about current politics and affairs. I also know fuck all about our political history, but that’s not the point. My knowledge extends to knowing Labour MP Stephen Conroy is trying to censor our Internet, Julia Gillard is our awfully monotone Prime Minister, and Tony Abbott says “Fair dinkum” too often in a vain attempt to come across as a ‘true Aussie’.
I know barely anything about the policies of either of the main parties or even those of the minor parties. In fact, beyond the names of the leaders and those who occasionally end up being newsworthy, I don’t even know what the party is.
I would read the newspapers, but they only pick what would be newsworthy and don’t actually detail everything Not to mention that papers like The Advertiser are either bias or don’t tell the whole story; either way I just don’t feel such a traditional medium would cut it. Everyone in my family is incredibly bias, and with half the news I get coming from blogs, I can be sure that what I read there won’t be everything either. While there are bound to be sources that state the straight facts, I don’t see myself having the mental drive to read through it all.
It’s difficult to get the whole picture easily without following everything religiously, and I just don’t care enough to. At the same time though, I want to make the ‘right’ decision for myself, and without knowing the facts I can’t. It’s a bit of a downward spiral2. It’s probably the wrong mentality to take when I spend multiple paragraphs complaining, but that’s how I work.
I don’t know who I’ll vote for, and I can see myself potentially just flipping a coin when I get to the booth. Despite the fact that I’ll attempt to read up on everything, I know that I’ll get distracted by a game of Alien Swarm which I’m going to be honest, is just way more fun and satisfying.
