Politics can seem pretty scary and daunting right now. Every time I open my phone, all of the stuff I see is people proclaiming that the world is ending. This can cause a lot of anxiety. If you find yourself constantly thinking about politics and the news and wondering how it will affect you, you should take some steps to understand how our government works.
How does the American Government even work?
The first step in understanding politics right now is to understand how these institutions work. The U.S. Government can be confusing if you aren’t sure what certain terms mean. Start with a YouTube video or an article that lays out the format (This video I found covers the basics of the format of government, while this one shows the life cycle of a bill). A bill can be introduced in either the House or the Senate. After the bill is introduced it is referred to the appropriate committee. In committee, members can evaluate the language of the bill and the effects it may have. If the bill makes it out of committee, it will be voted on in the chamber it was introduced in. Meaning that if the bill was introduced in the House, the House will vote first. If the bill passes the first chamber, the bill will move on to the second chamber. A bill must pass both chambers to become law. If a bill passes through congress, it goes to the President. You don’t have to know every single nuance but knowing the basics goes a long way.
Find news sources to follow
Following the news is a good way to stay in the loop, but how do you choose which news source to follow? Luckily, a media watchdog company, Ad Fontes Media, created this media bias chart. This chart is constantly updated by news analysts at Ad Fontes Media. Analyzing media bias can be difficult and is not an exact science, but this chart is a good place to start for anyone trying to get into politics. Pick a few sources under the “Middle or Balanced Bias” category and sign up for notifications. USAFacts is effective if you have direct questions, while The Hill is good for staying current on U.S. political news and CBS is good for more general news. Now, when something important happens, you are in the loop! These sources also do a good job of explaining the meanings of things, so when something happens that you don’t fully understand these sources can be helpful by summarizing.
Find what matters to you
Check out bills that have been introduced. Visit the US Congress website. Start with the top 10 most viewed bills. From there you can find bills sponsored by your House Representative or Senator, who you can find through a quick google search. To find you House Representative look up the congressional district for your state plus your city. Then find the representative for this district. If you already have a category that you are interested in, go to the committee that oversees this category and see what the committee is currently doing. Find bills that matter to you. After you have identified a few bills that matter to you, follow the process. The Congress website will actively update the status of bills when there have been changes.
Get in contact with the right people
After a bill that you support has been introduced, reach out to your congressperson. If the bill is in the house and is going to be voted on, then email your House representative and tell them how you feel. These people are supposed to represent you. What you have to say matters.
Don’t freak out
The next time you open social media and see something that scares you or makes you anxious, don’t freak out. Take a step back and do some research. Read the bill and break down what it actually means. If something seems too crazy to be true, the likelihood of it actually being passed is slim. According to the Center for Effective Lawmaking, between 2017-2019, over half of the bills introduced in the House died before making it to the Senate. The statistics for bills introduced in the Senate are slightly lower but similar. This means that many of the bills that you see introduced will not be made into law. Many will not even make it out of the committee. Don’t freak out prematurely.
Familiarize yourself with how Congress works
If your interest in politics goes even deeper than just wanting to know what is going on, check out the Congress live streams. Whenever Congress is in session, there is a livestream of both chambers, available to anyone. Watching these can familiarize you with the language that is used in the chambers and the process which a bill goes through. You can navigate to these live streams through the US Congress website.
There is so much on the internet that makes American politics seem scary right now. The best way to combat fear and anxiety is to get informed.