Okay, for those of you who are wondering, yes, there are types of politics that don’t involve government. All politics really is is the process of groups of people making decisions. So when you and your friends spend ten minutes deciding between Italian and Chinese, you’ve participated in a political process.

But what those idiots in Washington do, that’s different, right? Nah, more power and a lot more rubber chicken, but not really any different at its core. There’s the guy that doesn’t care as long as something is decided and soon. There’s the one gal who hates Italian food but won’t admit it so she keeps bringing up Chinese anytime Italian is mentioned. Then the guy that just wants pizza but doesn’t want to be pushy. There’s that one guy that will keep switching sides. And the poor dude that is actually allergic to MSG so he can’t eat anything at the group’s favorite Chinese place.

Ten minutes later, you’re on the way to a steakhouse wondering how that happened.

This explains a lot about the stupid stuff that comes out of government, doesn’t it?

Adding power and a bunch of rules doesn’t really make the process any less messy. If anything, it gets worse. Five people will eventually sort out where they are going. But five hundred and thirty-five try to sort out complex issues with constituents, industry, political allies, political enemies, business, Wall Street, lobbyists, special interests and the assorted crazies all breathing down their necks. This is why we pay representatives. Otherwise, no one would ever be insane enough to run for office.

What they do in Washington affects the entire country. Trade deals can bring business in or push it out. Regulation favors established business over start ups but sometimes is the only way to straighten out the problem. Taxes affect everyone but in more ways than you may realize. No one looks forward to paying taxes but minor changes to the tax code can prop up failing businesses best allowed to fail or kill promising businesses best left alone. Whole industries can be wiped out with the stroke of a pen and millions of jobs with them.

A four year tour for a young man just looking to get a start in life can instantly become a tour of duty in a warzone. People who haven’t had a normal job in decades start playing as social engineering and destroying lives in the process. Science that couldn’t survive a high school grading system suddenly becomes policy because it says the thing that it popular in the right clubs. Education becomes a social experiment instead of a means to bring out the best in the next generation.

And that is just Washington.

Roads seem trivial to most modern people but they are the difference between the life and death of towns and counties. Schools crammed together into giant conglomerates funded by the state but on the basis of where they are located become institutions that neither serve their function nor their customers. Allocations for infrastructure become political pawns.

Can you get the services you need if something goes wrong? Depends on how well or badly run your local government is. Does your city or county even have public transportation? No big deal for most of us but it becomes a major problem fast for those who can’t afford to buy a new car after a breakdown or can no longer see well enough to safely drive.

Are your elections fair? Is your district getting a new industry or did that go to a bigger county with deeper pockets?

Government touches every aspect of life. Everything from airwaves to food is regulated in one way or another. That’s a LOT of decisions being made about how you get to live your life.

It would be easy if the connections were always obvious and immediate, but they are usually subtle and delayed. A year passes before you see the effect of that new tax bill. Two years after the fact you watch a highway pass your town by. That Mom and Pop grocery store closed nearly five years after that new regulation was enacted.

Government affects your life. That’s the short answer to why you should pay attention to politics. The long answer is that government has the power to do tremendous good or horrendous harm to others in your name. See, government of the People means not only that the People rule the government but that the government is the People’s dog and the People’s responsibility.

Wherever that dog poops, you have to clean it up.