A lot of people just don’t want to think about it. It oftentimes feels like your vote doesn’t matter, which is generally true in Presidential elections unless you’re in a swing state. And it often feels like you’re just voting for the shiniest of two turds anyway.
Getting involved in politics at a local level, where your decisions actually have the most effect on your day-to-day life, is just too boring I guess.
I’ve looked into getting involved locally. Unfortunately, the game is stacked against anyone with an unconventional work schedule, who works long shifts, who is non-white, queer, or disabled, who is a non-English speaker…
It’s set up so the majority of people who wield the power and influence are fairly affluent, privileged groups. This is by design.
I call it the propagandosphere
The media and social media are geared towards reinforcing tribalism. You have to pick a team and anyone on the other team is your enemy. It works well as a means of driving engagement and making money at the expense of having an electorate that is informed.
It reminds me of the town hall Bernie Sanders did on Fox News a few years ago. If you strip away the partisan blinkers and have a debate based on facts, specific policy points, and focusing on trying to improve people’s lives instead of scoring cheap points then more people agree than disagree, regardless of political affiliation.
I guess the question is, “who benefits from a divided electorate?”