My high horse
After the election, I asserted that people voted for Trump because they didn't do their homework, they didn't read or learn enough, they didn't do their duties as voters.
I feel that way still, but maybe I need to get off my high horse. Maybe.
I just learned that central banks are buying more gold lately, partially because the U.S. sanctioned Russia's U.S. dollars, meaning Russia doesn't get to use U.S. currency for foreign trade.
I think I've got that right. I'm not sure.
The sanctions were from 2023? Or earlier? I'm not sure right now.
I vaguely recall that we sanctioned Russia, but it was just one tidbit of information that I basically forgot about.
And then I just learned about BRICS in the last month or two - Brazil Russia India China Soomeone. Saudi arabia?
Two days ago, I learned that Chiquita got ordered to pay like $38 million for hiring violent mercenaries in Colombia. The lawsuit started in like 2007!
So what's my duty? What do I need to be informed about? And am I shirking that duty?
Plus, let's consider my information sources and the amount of time I spend learning and consuming information. YouTube is my starting point for a lot of this information, then I look up a lot of stuff. I subscribe to AllSides RSS feed and I read pretty much every headline & read the articles that seem important. I watch some political speeches (State of the Union, RNC Trump speech, DNC Harris speech, victory & concession speeches). For a little while, i was reading supreme court case summaries from Justia.
I'm a fucking political nerd. I love this shit. I like to be informed about it. Yet there are just so many gaps in my knowledge, and my personal information ecosystem leaves much to be desired.
Let's consider gaps in my knowledge. I voted on a ballot measure to expand IVF access in my state. I did about 2-3 hours of research and took extensive notes about IVF, about costs. I read loads of articles. I learned what my state's current law is surrounding IVF (it was already pretty good).
Well that whole measure wasn't just about IVF. It was about removing limits on the number of times a patient can have reproductive healthcare covered by their health insurance in my state.
For example, you can currently get 4 IVF treatments + 2 more if you have a baby. The ballot measure was advisory, but if the state congress & governor pass a law supporting this change, then you'd be able to get 5, 6, 7, or more IVF treatments if that's what the doctor ordered.
But that removal-of-limits extends to all reproductive health care. I didn't do any research beyond the IVF portion of that question. We had two more ballot measures that I did zero research on, besides looking up what they asked.
I had 4 or mb 6 different judicial retention races to vote on. They basically ask "Should this judge be a judge for 6 more years?" I didn't look up any of their names, and I had no knowledge about how any of them administer the law. I had met one before, and one sounded familiar bc I read my local paper sometimes. But I didn't know anything meaningful about any of them.
I didn't research the coroner candidates; I voted on party lines.
So who's not doing their duty? Me.
And why not?
Because it's fucking hard dude. I do my duty in some areas, but not in others.
I need to get off my horse. I need to consider "What do I actually need to know?" And I need to craft my own information ecosystem to make that happen. Then maybe I can educate others on how to do that too. Mayyyybe.
I also need to balance this duty-to-be-informed with my other duties - eating, exercising, maintaining relationships, cleaning house, etc.
And maybe I need to understand that other people's duties differ from mine & they may place different priorities on those duties. Like I don't have a kid, and I'm too disabled to work.
It's still hard to get over this when it comes to Trump, though maaaan. I'm not ready to let that one go, but ... maybe I do need to get off my high horse. Mayyyyybeeee.