Travis Farral

From the very second I wake up every morning, my life is impacted by politics - whether I choose to care about politics or not. From my paycheck with its various taxes - federal withholding, social security, medicare, state withholding, and local withholding - to the property tax on my house, my life is already greatly impacted by politics and I haven’t even got out of bed yet. As I pull on my pants (which I paid state and local sales taxes for and which have inflated costs due to corporate taxes and/or import taxes) and grab my wallet (containing my state-issued driver’s license) I continue to encounter the influence of politics in my daily life.

As I read the daily newspaper, I am inundated with stories about politicians, new laws, and the latest sensational stories. Politicians react to those sensational issues and attempt to be heroes by passing new legislation to address this issue or that - sometimes creating even bigger problems in the attempt. I climb in my car (which I paid sales tax for, pay a yearly licensing fee for, and pay to be tested yearly for emissions) and head to work, burning gas (also taxed) which by law here locally also contains ethanol causing a reduction in mileage compared to what I used to get with straight gasoline.

In the workplace, I’ve become desensitized to the full impact of politics in my daily life. As I walk past the break room I barely take notice of the large poster in there laden with the necessary legal lingo about minimum wage, worker’s compensation, and a host of other details .- in two languages. I pay no attention to the door to the cable closet as I walk past. Inside, a small step-ladder has been properly placed down the wall from - instead of under - the power panel, according to OSHA specifications. The wires in the ceiling are all plenum-rated - according to regulations. The actions of myself and my coworkers are all governed by rules and regulations put in place by well-meaning politicians. Rules for how visitors are handled, how employee infractions are handled and what some of those infractions should be, even whether or not you are hired can all be governed by various rules and regulations. So my employment is governed and taxed, even allowed or disallowed, according to politics.

The school my children attend is governed and regulated and even the very things that are taught are all controlled by politics.

Everywhere I go I am surrounded by the influence of politics whether I choose to care about it or not. From my marriage, to my property, to my guns, to my children, to my church, to my neighborhood and city, to the stores I go to and the products I buy, everything is affected by politics. I could even lose my house to politics if the politicians decide it’s more expedient for something else to be on that property instead of my house.

So why should I care about politics? With so much of my life affected by politics, how could I not care?