Why I Don’t Talk Politics Here

Cruising my blogs today, it’s very difficult to find someone not writing on last night’s debate, which hopefully everybody watched. I thought I’d use the occasion not to add my $0.02 on the matter, but to explain rather why I assiduously avoid politics (with the exception of technology related issues) here, which you may or may not have noticed. This will be my last post on the subject as well.

There are numerous reasons why I don’t discuss politics here, nor my personal politics, but it ultimately comes down to a comment I read recently (source forgotten, sorry) that described politics as the new divider. I strongly subscribe to this notion, as it jives with my own personal experience both personally and professionally.

Where in the past different populations and constituencies used religion as a means of segregation and differentiation, today it’s becoming politics. Communities are polarizing themselves along perceived political axes, rather than looking for commonality and compromise. I think it’s unfortunate, but somewhat inevitable at the same time. I could go on for hours about the reasoning for this, but at the end of the day I have my beliefs, you have yours, and maybe we agree and maybe we don’t. But I don’t think that anything I write here is likely to persuade you out of your opinion or vice versa. More importantly, I don’t think my feelings on the election are why you’re here. If they are, you’ve been gravely misled 😉

So while I certainly respect the right of any blogger to express his or her personal views on politics, the debate, or the candidates, you won’t get mine here. You’ll get them on virtually any other topic I think is important, and I will certainly argue here for issues that I believe in, but politics for me is a non-starter. Maybe this means that tecosystems isn’t a ‘real’ blog as I’m imposing a form of self-censorship, but so be it. I can live with that.

In lieu of my own thoughts on the subject, however, I was listening to CCR on the ride over this morning and I think they said it better than I ever could:

Don’t Look Now (It Ain’t You or Me)

Who will take the coal from the mine?
Who will take the salt from the earth?
Who’ll take a leaf and grow it to a tree?
Don’t Look Now, it ain’t you or me.

Who will work the field with his hands?
Who will put his back to the plough?
Who’ll take the mountain and give it to the sea?
Don’t Look Now, it ain’t you or me.

Don’t Look Now, someone’s done your starvin’;
Don’t Look Now, someone’s done your prayin’ too.

Who will make the shoes for your feet?
Who will make the clothes that you wear?
Who’ll take the promise that you don’t have to keep?
Don’t Look Now, it ain’t you or me.

Who will take the coal from the mines?
Who will take the salt from the earth?
Who’ll take the promise that you don’t have to keep?
Don’t Look Now, it ain’t you or me.

So that’s it. End of lecture, end of soapbox. No more politics. Just thoughts from the tecosystem.