Recently, I took the political compass quiz.

After getting a rather communist ranking, I went searching for other political compass tests that may give me better answers.

My gripe with all these political questionnaires is that they never allow you to justify your answer or qualify your reasoning and rationale. Instead, I'm asked to pick a statement I agree with more or how much I agree or disagree with a given statement, which I don’t believe is a legitimate way to gauge someone's politics.

Politics is more about motivation than it is problem-solving, at least in the modern world. While problem-solving is an added bonus, political ideology and policy writing are closer to personal desires than altruism. Whether or not you want to accept it, people’s politics are selfish, citizen and senator alike.

While this may sound very ‘black pilled’, I genuinely believe that the overwhelming majority of political affiliations, opinions, and perspectives are based in the self more than in the greater good. Many people, when given a choice between the greater good and their own gain, would often choose themselves over others.

Why do most choose themselves over others?

Many argue that it is innate within us. Evolutionists would say that our genetic makeup allows us to prioritize our own needs over those of others due to our natural survival instincts. Because in the wild, millions of years ago, if you put another's wants or needs above your own, you would more than likely perish as a result. Either from being eaten by a predator or even starving yourself, survival-wise, you need to prioritize your own well-being before you can help others.

As we all know, nurture has just as much, if not more, say than nature does, especially in our modern society.

Near the end of the 20th century and for all of the 21st, students across all grade levels, subject matters, and socioeconomic statuses have been told that they are the most important thing in the world.

Let me get this out of the way: Yes, everybody is unique and deserves to have their own opportunities to pursue their interests, and everyone can be successful in whatever it is that they choose to do.

But what public education does is create a sense of selfishness in the student. By constantly catering to the needs of each and every student through curriculum changes and allowing students to retake tests and redo assignments, students believe that actions have no consequences. This, alongside the fact that modern administrators, teachers, and even parents refuse to correct students when they are wrong, either academically or behaviorally, students tend to become more selfish.

What contemporary education also fails to teach is ethics and virtues as they relate to modern life. One of the key virtues that schools fail to teach is selflessness—putting the needs of others before your own, and understanding that what is suitable for everyone is also good for you.

Here and now, we start to see how politics is a trickle-down from education.

When students are taught to think of themselves in all situations, we see the results in their voting records. When voters prioritize their own interests over the greater good, they create a society that focuses on the self.

Now the debate still comes on how to achieve the greater good, and I don’t think that problem will get solved in my lifetime or even the lifetime of my great-great-grandchildren.

But when citizens start voting with their brain instead of their pockets, or with their hearts instead of relying on the opinions of social media influencers, some real change may occur in this nation.

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I sometimes find it hard to discuss politics in this medium and with people in general. People try to simplify such complex topics, which then creates unnecessary tension. Not only that, but everybody feels as though they are entitled to an opinion on every topic under the sun.

Reflecting on the political compass, I realized that I had no opinion on many of the questions or topics it raised.

Perhaps I should be more well-read or up to date with all that’s happening in the world. But also, I wonder if maybe more people should just be okay with the idea that they don’t know everything.

Normalize not having an opinion.

Seriously. Don’t spout an opinion that you don’t honestly believe. Looking back, there are many times when I would just reference a political commentator’s point of view on any number of topics as if they were my own.

Because, in reality, I did not have one, and it felt wrong to say “I don’t know,” or “I don’t have an opinion on that.”

There’s nothing wrong with being informed or up to date on all the happenings on Capitol Hill, but there’s also nothing wrong with just reading a headline every once in a while. Overconsumption of any kind leads to an unhealthy relationship.

Take this as your cue to take a vacation from Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, or The Daily Wire and get a breather.

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Thanks for reading!

I appreciate you taking the time to engage with these ideas. I hope this newsletter gave you something to think about.

So...I have a podcast called The Modern Republic.

On said cast, I see how many times I can say "um" or "whatever you want to call it" in a thirty-minute window, while also discussing the problems plaguing modern education and subsequently society. It's a great time.

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Watch on YouTube.

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