There is a story out today that pollsters have found that only 15% of Canadians are interested in their country's politics right now. This is seen as a huge disadvantage for the leading opposition party's hopes of getting people stirred up for change.
Anyway, the story also quotes a number of pollsters explaining the phenomenon. The answer I liked best is this one:
Ipsos Reid president Darrell Bricker agrees. “Voters are stuck where they are and won’t change until they’re given a compelling reason to do so,” he says. “Yes, voters may be parked, but they will stay in the lot until they are convinced to drive away.”I like that in a voter. Studied indifference is exactly the right attitude.
...
Mr. Bricker, meanwhile, believes Canadian voters have already made up their minds. What some call apathy, he sees as “studied indifference.”
Years ago now, one of my uncles used to insist on coming into church at the last possible moment and leaving soon after mass and he advised others to do likewise. He said, "Priests are prone to preach and you don't want to encourage the man."
That sounds irreverent but I think he had it right. A priest's primary job is to say the mass and administer the other sacraments. Everything else he does is superfluous. He might occasionally also have something worthwhile to say about theology or morality but probably not. Most priests have nothing any more useful or edifying to say on those subjects than any other member of the population. When in doubt, a good priest will do the red, say the back and then stop.
The same is true of most politicians. You might want to tune in to politics three or four times a year but for the other 361 days there are much more important things to deal with and we shouldn't let politicians and their allies in the press convince us otherwise.
Here at the Studiously Uncool we are members of the studiously indifferent party. We want our politicians to do only what is necessary and then, please!, just stop,
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