As I am writing this, it is August 7th, 2018. I live in Lewis Center, Ohio, where a special election is occurring to replace the seat of Republican Pat Tiberi, who decided to leave his elected position as a form of protest against Trump, Congress, and the failure of the federal government, in his opinion, to accomplish anything. According to the New Yorker, "The 12th District covers all of Delaware, Licking, and Morrow counties, along with parts of Franklin, Marion, Muskingum, and Richland counties."
I have seen people around me grow angry at this election. Angry at the evil other party, angry at their inability to choose or even care about who to vote for. Because of this, I sat down today to write a scathing piece about all of the problems with politics today. From the media that refers to the place I live like its a foreign nation to the people reeking havoc on social media, spreading lies and hateful speech, villanizing their neighbors, or threatening to damage a high school in my district. However, I no longer want to write about all that is wrong in this situation.
Lately, I have been disinterested in politics. I have grown tired after months of news that promises that every day is the end of the world. As someone who used to be so interested in politics and this country in general, there were so many reasons to grow apathetic. However, watching this story unfold as both a resident and in some ways an objective observer, I found that the disinterest came from the way politics in portrayed. Politics and the government is something that is yelled about in the media. It occurs on a hill very far away from you.
It took this national news story in my town to even realize that this is the beauty of our country. Even in the midst of government officials literally quitting their jobs, it highlights the fact that small places in flyover states can make a difference and have an impact on the nation.
It truly has been interesting, to say the least, to live in the center of national news. As what I would term a Kasich county, or a Republican county that had many write-ins and libertarian and other third party votes in the election, it will be very interesting to see how the vote turns out.
And I'm finally learning to care again about the result.
