Should You Be Looking for Political News and Opinions From a Lifestyle Influencer?

In my opinion, absolutely not.

I first would like to start this conversation by saying I am not the person you should be coming to for an opinion on any of these topics. I have not thought deeply about the history of American politics or globalization and its intersection with today’s America since my degree I finished two years ago. I felt that politics just made me itchy and that no one who should be a politician ever became one.

In the broader context, I work in the entertainment industry, and I don’t habitually expose myself enough or daily to current news that doesn’t relate to my day-to-day work. I am struggling to find time in the day as it is, but I am working to fill that gap now, because I realize we all must be informed as Americans at this moment. Still, I currently do not feel I have a leg to stand on. I would never want to speak about something knowing I have a blank space in my understanding.

There are so many other more informed voices right now, and I implore you to maybe try Bloomberg or other sources for better information.

That said, I think it would be disingenuous to continue on with my flowery online presence without acknowledging that I do care very much about our country and the current issues we face.

It is terrifying to see American politics hit a point where every reaction to an identified issue must be an extreme. Most issues we face as a country are concerning across both sides of the political aisle, so the need to polarize — I think — signifies a certain level of dissolution of American core values.

My personal worry is we may be irrecoverably embroiled in an era of reactionary politics — stuck chasing bites off our own tail until we lose all that makes the United States what it is, and the chance at what it once was.

Now, I told you I’m not the one to give you information right now as I myself feel uninformed. And so I won’t. I just wanted to give you my one opinion: we are in a really tough place as a country, and we all need to get involved and figure out where our beliefs lie before it’s too late. Unfortunately, I no longer have the luxury of ignoring politics, and I don’t think any of us have that luxury.

I feel I am part of a generation that doesn’t fully conceptualize that the U.S. is not guaranteed success, peace, or prosperity. We don’t have a memory of times when those things weren’t guaranteed — and understanding our truthful history seems to be out of style. But it’s us, the younger generations, who will pay the ultimate cost.

So I urge anyone who reads this — no matter what you believe — to find a news source you trust, and then get involved. Especially if you are a moderate.

And if you do identify as one of the few who wouldn’t be impacted by any of this, I implore you to care for your country and neighbors even though you don’t have to.

It is so much easier to put our blinders on — to focus on the already stressful personal contexts we find ourselves in. But things are changing, and we may have to endure the discomfort of educating ourselves in order to find any comfort in the end.