As an aspiring politics major, I firmly believe everyone should take at least one politics course in their lifetime. I think this is something most people say about their major, but regardless of what other people say about their major, here are the reasons I believe everyone should study politics and government.

Politics, being a broad-term, usually situates itself as the study of power within a government or state which leaves plenty to be studied. Understanding institutionalized power structures are key to understanding the influences on a culture or an individual. Thankfully, politics devotes itself to understanding those structures.

Politics exist in many forms. There are international politics, state-wide politics, local politics, and many, many more which all affect your daily life. It stands to reason that you might like to know a bit more about the forces that affect your daily life. Even if you just take a class on the United States government, you would still be learning a lot about the many ways our government influences you.

For example, the fact that it regulates everything from the amount of lead or other toxins which can be found in our water, to the drugs doctors prescribe. It controls the budget to repair infrastructure, maintain parks, explore the stars, and to fight wars. As soon as you purchase something you are subjected to taxes, a force the government controls. The influence it has is astounding.

No one can act like the government or politics does not affect them without lying to themselves and others. So unless you would rather ignore reality or not care about reality, I would highly recommend looking into a course on how politics intersects with your life and your interests. I sincerely doubt you will walk away from that class without some small bit of information that will actually help you prepare for the rest of your life.