Welcome to the End of Politics
Everything is political except your political views
I keep waking up with Neil Young in my head. See, “Heart of Gold” is my song. It’s the song that always inspires friends to text me when they hear it on the radio. I’m not sure why. I didn’t pick it for myself; it’s like it was assigned to me, and now it’s a part of who I am.
I have never listened to Joe Rogan, not as a form of protest or anything; it just never occurred to me to do so. It never occurred to me to go to a Chargers game or have an opinion on Meghan Markle, but I love the World Cup and I could write you a five-paragraph essay on my opinions about Li Ziqi.
I like to think I have these opinions for a reason. I like to think they are unique and authentic parts of myself, representing in some microcosmic way what my values and priorities are. They’re a statement of what I deem important and what I don’t, how I identify, and what cultural touchstones represent me.
I think American football is dumb and weird, but watching the World Cup makes me an engaged citizen of Planet Earth. As for Li Ziqi — well, she represents in many ways what I feel is missing from my society: skills passed down through tradition, unique knowledge that can only arise from generations of living in harmony with the land of a particular region, the…
