Learn from the mistakes of others

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Politics, Rick, and Head-Banging
Richard Forno
www.infowarrior.org

17 March 2004
Copyright (c) 2004 by Author. Permission granted to reproduce with credit.

This weekend, I came to the startling realization that in several ways, I've become everything that I hated in some of my friends who eat, live, and work in the political arena. I don't like it. And that's going to change. Now.

To wit:

I'm no professional journalist or political pundit, but wanted get some idea of what it was like, and perhaps make a small but useful contribution to our society as well. Researching and writing "Weapons of Mass Delusion" was a two-year experiment that allowed me to explore issues beyond my usual geeky musings about the Information Society. Perhaps it was also my way of responding to September 11 and the many questionable changes to our country in its aftermath in a positive, creative manner. I'm humbled that it received rather positive reader feedback since its release, and hope it served its purpose of getting some folks to think for themselves about the issues of the day. Indeed, it was a fun project.

So what did I learn from this experiment?

A great deal about American political culture, actually, including confirmation of some things that I already knew. But those lessons are reserved for a quiet place where someone continually refreshes our drinks. :)

For anyone with a modicum of sanity and desire to make a difference in life, you'll find that continually examining American politics and problems in our culture is a thankless task, knowing that one can't change things and anything one could say or write has already been covered time and again by others -- so why waste time reinventing the wheel? Besides, so much of what passes as commentary and analysis today is emotional sniping and finger-pointing intended to generate controversy and profit regardless of how much rational discourse actually takes place. Fresh ideas and factual analysis from any source, no matter how clearly articulated, are not embraced by a media industry that's more concerned with entertaining their viewers than informing them....a situation made worse when real-world facts are dismissed by lawmakers whenever they're incompatible with declared policy goals.

In short, I confirmed my suspicions that America's political and media landscapes are fantastic pieces of property located somewhere between Wonderland and Munchkinland. Sadly, there's just not enough reality there, and I'm tired of trying to find some. More important, during my quest, I let things far beyond my control bother me and skew/slant/warp/bias my otherwise rational perception of the world around me and distract me from my chosen career path -- and that troubles me.

So what am I doing about it? Three things:

First, if a mainstream publisher offers to publish "Weapons of Mass Delusion", I'll do some new research and update it accordingly, but otherwise, I'll probably "open source it" later this year by releasing the chapters as magazine articles or simply archiving them here on my website.

Second, I'm done getting angry or disturbed about political/cultural things beyond my control and then ranting about them. I've purged many bookmarks and unsubscribed from the various lists used as resources as I wrote the book last year. No more am I going to locate and bring such depressing materials into my life when there's little if anything I can do about it anyway -- and that includes buying related books at Barnes and Noble, too. My time and energies are better directed in other, more meaningful pursuits.

Third, I'm voting in November. An independent since 2000, I've choosen not to associate myself with either mainstream party (since they both are equally worthless in my view) and will vote by my conscience for the best person instead of by their party affiliation or campaign commercials. With what I've seen this past few years, I trust my own analysis and ability to think rationally more than I trust theirs.

If this counts as "throwing in the towel" or giving up on or running away from my two-year exploration dabbling in amateur political analysis and cultural commentary, so be it. However, during this time, I've confirmed one important fact -- American political culture is a self-serving cesspool incapable of fixing itself in any meaningful way or placing the public's best interest above all else. In addition, this exercise reinforces my long-standing belief that life is just too damn short to bang one's head against the wall repeatedly for no useful purpose...besides, I don't need this crap given both the new job and the start of my PhD studies.

Yes, I care about what's happening in the world and will continue following closely the "major" news of the day as I've done for years both as a student of national security policy and an informed citizen, but that's it. No more looking for depressing news and writing politically-charged rants -- they're nothing but wasted energy for me now, and I don't see things changing anytime soon.

That being said, I plan to refocus my efforts on being the best I can be in my chosen career field of technology, security, and policy -- and where the application of my creative and professional energies still can make a difference both at work and in my traditional technology-related musings.

In other words, it's time to enjoy life again.

Thanks for reading.

Richard Forno is a Washington, DC-based security consultant and author. His home in cyberspace is at http://www.infowarrior.org.

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This article can be found at http://www.infowarrior.org/articles/2004-10.html