Politics

 

Recently, I went on a trip to Berlin, the capital of Germany. What I did on that trip is completely irrelevant and uninteresting because I was neck deep in protocols I need to write, and the lecture notes I need to copy.

This picture sums up my long weekend in Berlin perfectly. Tons of barely readable chemical reactions and a shit ton of them. To be perfectly fair, that picture does not begin to cover half of what I did that weekend but I´d rather not bore anyone with the details.

Case in point is that I had a lot of things to do even though I had the amazing opportunity to enjoy the fascinating city of Berlin. It was a misjudgement on my behalf since I can study any day and I am only going to have that weekend in Berlin but there is no point in dwelling on the past.

However, in during my time in Berlin, my mom did manage to drag me out to a few places before I crawled back into my dark and isolated study cave. To be perfectly honest, I am glad my mom took me to places even though I did not appreciate it at first.

One of those places being, the Bundestag, which is for all who don’t know, the German federal parliament. Since I did not listen to the presentation begin held there, I can´t tell you what the parliament is good for. The parliament is just one of the many things I like to take for granted.

Turns out it is pretty easy to visit the German parliament since all you need to do is sign up for a tour or lecture, depending on what is available and what you would like to see or find out. Of course, the parliament took many and thorough security measures even though there no members of parliament present.

Beside the letter confirming that you booked a tour, you will also need id and for obvious reasons are not allowed to bring any kind of weapons. It was just like walking through airport security. The only difference that at the end of it you don’t end up on a relaxing vacation in the Maldives.

Despite the ancient architectural style on the outside of the parliament, the inside was modern, much to my surprise. The best part of the parliament visit was, in my opinion, the dome. From up there you have a fantastic view of Berlin even if the weather does not want to play along. It is like playing where is waldo with berlin´s iconic landmarks.

Visiting the Bundestag made me come to a few realizations. First one being that the stenographers have a really hard job even though they make it look easy. They have to type everything and also note down any remarks and the person who remarked it. It is just seems like an easy job but isn´t.

Second, the german parliament does a great job documenting and making everything for the public record. Before visiting the Bundestag, I did not know what the stenographers documented were made public for everyone to read. It is a way of control and it is pretty great.

Third, I really didn’t give a crap about german politics. Don’t get me wrong, politics are incredibly important, and I shouldn’t take democracy for granted. Nevertheless, before visiting the german parliament I didn’t realize how much I don’t know about german politics.

For instance, I don´t know the current german president by name nor do I know what he stands for. I don´t know what the current agenda of the German parties are. I don’t know what each representative who are up for election represent and would defend. Long story short, I don’t know anything.

In my defence, the political landscape shifts immeasurably fast and as I have proven in my first two paragraphs of this article, I frankly don’t have time to keep up with everything being discussed and changed in the german government even though I should at least care a bit.

Another thing is that there are simply too much of information surrounding the german politics which can easily overwhelm an overworked student. Nevertheless, none of this should excuse my lacking interest for politics.

The reason for the lack of interest is just because I don’t believe that my vote can change anything. That my interest would be defended since there is no party, I would fully support. There is always something that I don’t agree with. The best I can do is vote the person who I least disagree with.

Frankly, voting for someone whom I least disagree with is simply senseless in my opinion. It is not as if their agenda won´t change over time because it will one way or another. It is not as if they would follow through on their campaign promises because most politicians don’t to the extent anticipated.

I am certain that many people would disagree with me on this point I am trying to make but that is just my opinion and everyone is entitled to their opinions even though others might not agree with that opinion.

Another reason I take politics with a grain of salt is because I sometimes don’t see the point in sharing political opinions. This time I am not even talking about the parties and politicians, I am talking about the core values that those parties represent.

Sometimes, I just believe that sharing opinions can be dangerous, since some people are willing to fight just to prove a point that does not exist. And sadly, I am not ready to get hurt for something I believe in, especially since I know opinions can change.

Again, I understand how important it is that people give a damn about politics since if we don’t care about politics we might just let an unfit maniac decide everything and to be candid, we don’t need another one of those egomaniacs.

What I just don’t understand is why I don’t give that of a damn about German politics since I am perfectly able to explain how American politics work and I can point out every flaw but I can´t do the same for German politics.

It is very likely that I don’t watch German television or read German news enough but instead dedicated my time towards American comedy shows since pure news without any humour just makes the news even more depressive than it already is.

The solution to that problem might be clear at this point since you might believe that the solution to that problem would be to change it from American comedy shows to german comedy shows which cover politics.

I hate to burst that bubble, but I have a strong disliking towards german comedy in general since first, it is really monotone and second sometimes german comedy shows can be racist or completely ignorant. The audience for german comedy shows are normally traditional Germans so german comedy shows are also not as divers as they should be in this century.

The reason why I don’t know much about german politics and refuse to intake any news from the political sector is not because of the delivery of such news but rather the news itself that needs to be delivered.

German politics is rather bland to be frank. Even with all the public record keeping and every little bit of pizazz german politics may bring, it is just comparably dull in comparison to the politics around the world.

Take UK for instance, they chose to leave the EU and it is a huge deal. The USA also had as important decision, since they chose an elderly over a clown. France had the choice between a president and a wannabe president who is described as the French trump. However, all Germany chose was which source of energy we should invest in.

All I am saying is that I am fine with the way the current government is operating and I would do nothing to change it even though does not catch my attention as much as more international news. Politics should work like a well-oiled machine that does not require that much attention.

Indeed, I should focus more on regional news instead of international news. Yes, I should know more about how the current government is functioning and the people currently in charge. Sure, I should invest more time into researching the representatives who are up for election.

Politics is just one of the many things I am taking for granted. I know that it works and there are laws preventing it from changing drastically. I also get to enjoy the consequences of the decisions made by the people in the parliament. Which just means I really appreciate the things politics does for the everyday person.

However, just because something is functioning smoothly does not mean that it will continue functioning flawlessly in the years to come. It is the every-citizens job to make sure it functions nicely in the years to come.

If every one is as nonchalant about politics as I am, we would be living in a really messed up place. Since this indifference can allow really bad people to rise to power against the will of the people.

All I am trying to do is convince myself that I should no longer take politics for granted because things can quite literally change overnight and every one who did not give a crap would be the blame for that.

Even though all I could think while visiting the Bundestag was how the dome on top of the parliament building would make an amazing space for a fashion show with the history there and the mesmerizing architecture.

Visiting the Bundestag just gave me a new perspective. It gave me a chance to think about what I hate to think about. It allowed me to give myself a chance to know more about the current political system.

Sometimes, it only takes a vitally important building to change hearts and minds. Because standing next to a governmentally important building really helped put things into perspective.

Seeing all those empty chairs and knowing the people who sits in them just makes you realize that you are not the one in control of your future, regulation wise. If you want a little more control over your future, then you just got to vote for the representative who share most of your beliefs.

Even though one won´t rarely changes anything, at least you know you tried. If enough people try then the difference it makes would become clearer and clearer. Because politics is not about you as an individual. It is about the people in the whole country.

You don’t necessarily have to spend hours reading every publicly available document. You don’t necessarily have to follow up on every law being passed in the government. You don’t necessarily have to know everyone who are currently in the government.

The very least you got to know is who is your current representative. If they are following the promises they made and if you don’t like the representative for your city, make sure to cast a vote to make a change.

Politics is messy, fast-paced, and overwhelming. I completely agree but no one should expect a thing that has worked so long to continue working as nicely as it did and later complain if it doesn’t work anymore.

Politics should reflect what the people of that country wants and if no one says a word, then how should the government know that the people want for the country.

Note: I am not trying to convince anyone besides myself to care just a tad more about politics than I currently am. As it is tradition at this point, I also believe that by trying to explain the importance of politics to myself, I made this article significantly harder to follow and I must apologize for that and every other article which followed the same writing style.