We're getting closer to the 2024 election.

I don't normally pay much attention to politics, but the past couple of months has been an exception because it's been all over my Twitter feed and a popular topic of conversation among friends and family.

Some stories have caught my interest and I've gone down rabbit holes. Now, after learning more about key players and policies on both sides in the past 3 months than I have in the past 30 years, I feel compelled to write about my viewpoint from the lens of trying not to suck at life because I have a lot of thoughts I want to express.

Traditionally, even though I haven't cared much about politics, I've always considered myself more of an independent, not identifying with one party or another in the two-party U.S. system. Without knowing too much, I've loosely agreed with certain policies or beliefs on both sides and disagreed with others.

I like to think not having a strong identity tied to one party helps me see things from a more objective lens. And from this lens, I see a massive problem, clear as day:

Too many people's political opinions are formed and shaped by simply attacking the character of the other side.

There is little substantive argument on how policies will improve the lives of citizens or society as a whole. This is not a good way to determine the leader of the free world, and something I try to steer away from personally. So, in this post, I want to talk about what I am doing to form an objective political opinion.

Warning: this is a long one, so you may want to bookmark for later.

To me, it boils down to a simple 2-step process:

1. Define your values

2. Seek out high-quality information

The first step is defining your values.

Once you have a clear understanding of what you value most, you can objectively assess how closely each candidate’s policies align with these values. The easiest way for me to illustrate this process is to use myself as an example.

Here are some of my top values in order of importance (and the order matters)

1. Health

2. Safety and security

3. Individual freedom

4. Wealth and economic prosperity

5. Meritocracy

Now, I’ll elaborate on each of these in more detail.

This is where I dedicate most of my time, energy, and focus, along with a significant amount of my financial resources.

I'm constantly thinking about things like longevity, disease prevention, nutrition, exercise, sleep, and supplementation from an individual perspective and things like the food and healthcare system from a societal perspective. I understand most people aren't as interested in these topics as I am, but this area is huge for me.

Over the past few years, anyone paying attention has noticed a significant health crisis in the United States. We are spending more money on healthcare while having the worst health outcomes of any developed nation, with a life expectancy seven to eight years lower and higher rates of chronic disease than the top countries. The question is why?

I used to think it all came down to personal responsibility. People are not eating well, not moving enough, not sleeping well, and disrupting their circadian biology. And yes, this is true. However, I’ve recently learned there are also systemic reasons for the U.S.'s poor health outcomes.

Specifically, things like food quality, water quality, soil quality, and agricultural practices are all compromised because of greed and corruption in the highest levels of government. The U.S. allows more toxic chemicals into its food system than most other countries.

For example, Europe does not allow these chemicals, and people often report feeling better after eating pizza, pastries, and bread while on vacation there. They don't feel as bloated and have better energy. This raises an objective question about what the U.S. permits in its food supply.

The health crisis is a massive problem that has serious downstream consequences beyond just the longevity of U.S. citizens such as rising healthcare costs. Until this election cycle, it was mostly ignored. But now RFK Jr., an advocate for health, disease prevention, and food quality standards, has joined forces with Trump and is promising to take action. This made me stop and take notice, as one side is clearly more intent on addressing this issue than the other.

This applies both at a domestic level (personal safety and security for myself and my family), and at a global level.

Domestically, I feel we need to have a hard, unapologetic stance on violent crime while also doing everything we can to prevent it. In general, the Republican Party seems more willing to be tough on violent crime and prosecute criminals, regardless of their race or ethnicity.

On the other hand, the Democratic Party seems more in favor of gun control. I personally believe there should be no guns allowed in our country. I know that's a big anti-Republican stance, but if you want less gun violence, then this is the obvious solution.

The UK has implemented increasingly strict gun control measures since the 1990s and continues to have a significantly lower homicide rate compared to countries with less restrictive gun laws, like the United States.

Global safety and security is another important issue because nuclear war is potentially the most immediate and urgent existential threat to us.

In 2016, I thought Trump was more likely to get us into a World War III type situation (because this was the mainstream narrative), but as I've listened to him speak in long-form interviews, I've changed my perspective.

Now, I believe he is actually more likely to keep us out of a World War III because the leaders of dangerous countries are willing to meet and negotiate with him. Media portrays this negatively when Trump says he “gets along with” these dictators, but I view it as a positive. Because who are you more likely to nuke? Someone you have no relationship with, or someone you have met and negotiated with?

This is another issue I value at both an individual and national level. I want to be wealthy and prosperous myself, and I also want my country to be wealthy and prosperous.

There are clear advantages to being the most prosperous country in the world. In general, when a country is better off, its citizens will also be better off. It's like a rising tide lifts all ships. And historically, that's what we've been for the past century. But currently, there's a huge problem with the national debt.

It seems like nobody on the left is willing to address it. But on the right, you have people like Elon Musk, who has a plan to ensure that we bring in more money than we pay out. National debt is at an all-time high and on the verge of becoming unsustainable. When this happens to a business, the business goes bankrupt. The same is true for a nation.

This is such a fundamental issue that I can't believe it's not being addressed by both sides. This is an area where I believe we need a complete overhaul of the government, how it functions, and how it spends taxpayer dollars. Trump has tipped Elon to lead this and I trust him to do a better job than anyone who has ever held that responsibility because he has proven himself as one of the smartest and most innovative problem solvers in the world.

I've always been an independent-minded person.

I enjoy taking accountability for my well-being and solving my own problems to the best of my ability. I value freedom of speech, less regulation, and smaller government, in general. This raises the question of who is going to give people more individual freedoms.

I'm mixed on this one because both sides have pros and cons. I'm definitely pro-choice (left ideal) but also against things like vaccine mandates and censorship (right ideals) for the same reason. These regulations violate individual freedoms. Now there’s some nuance here and this gets back to where the order of values matter.

In general, I support more individual freedom, but not at all costs. To me, when individual freedom compromises the safety and security of others, it’s no longer worth it. When it puts people's safety at risk, there must be a hard line. This is why I’m against the right to own guns even though this represents one of the highest forms of individual freedom.

This value has a lot of gray on both sides, which requires close examination on what each party is doing across a number of issues.

This seems like a common sense one to me.

I don't know why this is even an issue that needs to be raised because it should just be a given in a modern, civilized, well-functioning society. Nonetheless, it is (and this exemplifies how much we have regressed in certain ways). Because of the woke mentality and the idea of equity at all costs, meritocracy has come into question.

If you haven’t sensed my position on this, I want the people who are going to do the best job to have that job without worrying about optics or diversity or anything that could compromise a high-functioning society. That might sound harsh to some people. You obviously want to give people equal opportunities to become the best versions of themselves, but granting equal outcomes is not that. In fact, it disincentivizes betterment.

Meritocracy produces a safer, more prosperous, and more independent society which supports many of my other values. When you sacrifice meritocracy, then you get the opposite effect. And I think that unfortunately, to some degree, we're starting to see that creep into our systems and organizations.

Okay, now the first and most important step is done.

This actually makes the rest of the process easier because once you are clear about your values, you are less likely to be swayed by less substantial things like allegations and attacks on character.

Actually let me touch on this for a minute...

Of course morals and ethics matter, but these are largely subjective things that are more easily manipulated by media, so basing your opinion solely on them means little to no emphasis on policies and actual outcomes.

It just doesn’t make sense to focus on insults, name calling, and petty nonsense when societal health, economic prosperity, safety, security, and civility are literally at stake. But that’s just my opinion.

Instead, I try to ask myself if either candidate were to win, how is society likely to be better or worse off? What is my best objective assessment of how things will play out in alignment with my values? This is where I try to formulate most of my opinions. Which brings me back to media.

First, know that discerning information isn’t easy.

I'll often see a take or a story on X, and I think it seems credible, but I honestly have no idea if it’s true. Like how are you supposed to know if you’re not actually in the room? You don’t. I do my best with it, but I understand it's impossible to really know what is true and what is not when you're getting your information from other people.

You also must be aware of your own personal biases. I see things occasionally, and think, “That seems to align with my values, so I hope it's true.” I've seen a lot of that type of stuff recently, and I've seen the opposite too, where it’s like, “Man, I hope that's not true because it doesn't align with my values at all.” It’s messy, to say the least.

As I alluded to earlier, when collecting the necessary information for your assessment, you cannot rely solely on mainstream media. These institutions are highly biased (everyone on both sides already knows and admits this). And as such, they are not incentivized to help you make informed decisions. What many people might not understand is just how corrupt and manipulative they are. X has exposed a lot of this and it’s truly shocking.

Consuming alternative independent media, such as X, long-form podcasts, and unscripted interviews, provides a deeper understanding of the topics at hand. For example, Joe Rogan and Lex Fridman host podcasts that delve into subjects for two to three hours, offering deep insights and nuanced discussion.

That's not to say that the people I listen to are not biased at all; it's more that the information is presented in a way that allows people like me who aren’t interested in the tribalism to develop an informed opinion.

Of course, people are going to lie, especially in politics, that’s just a given. But assuming everyone is lying all the time is not helpful. You still need to use your judgment, and I’ve found long-form independent media to be infinitely better than mainstream media in facilitating this.

This post went longer than I expected. If you’ve made it this far, thanks for hearing me out.

If you found this helpful, I encourage you to do your own inner soul searching into what’s truly important to you and maybe even write it down like I did. It’s never too early or too late and you can always change your mind. Remember I began this process this year at 40 years old, having previously paid very little attention to politics. However, I now see its importance.

Finally, you must have a thick skin and be civil when discussing these topics with friends and family whose views may be contrary to yours or heavily influenced by mainstream media. Recognize that they have good intentions and want positive outcomes for the country, even if their values differ.

For instance, I totally get that someone whose highest values are diversity, equity, and moral character may have a different political opinion than someone like me whose highest values are health, security, and economic prosperity. I might not agree with them, but I can see how they get there.

There is no good vs. evil battle here. We are one nation with two parties and both sides can have the nation’s best interest at heart.

At the end of the day, I honestly don't care what side you're on or what conclusion you come to, as long as you approach it in a way that is truth-seeking to the best of your ability and isn't tribal, divisive, or filled with hatred. If you can do this, I think you'll be in a good spot and more tolerant of others, which is what we need to unite our country.

Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this post, subscribe at the bottom of the page, if you haven't already, to get the next one sent to you. I'll also keep you updated on other things I'm working on. You can also check out my info products linked below. Until next time, try not to suck at life.

We're getting closer to the 2024 election.

I don't normally pay much attention to politics, but the past couple of months has been an exception because it's been all over my Twitter feed and a popular topic of conversation among friends and family.

Some stories have caught my interest and I've gone down rabbit holes. Now, after learning more about key players and policies on both sides in the past 3 months than I have in the past 30 years, I feel compelled to write about my viewpoint from the lens of trying not to suck at life because I have a lot of thoughts I want to express.

Traditionally, even though I haven't cared much about politics, I've always considered myself more of an independent, not identifying with one party or another in the two-party U.S. system. Without knowing too much, I've loosely agreed with certain policies or beliefs on both sides and disagreed with others.

I like to think not having a strong identity tied to one party helps me see things from a more objective lens. And from this lens, I see a massive problem, clear as day:

Too many people's political opinions are formed and shaped by simply attacking the character of the other side.

There is little substantive argument on how policies will improve the lives of citizens or society as a whole. This is not a good way to determine the leader of the free world, and something I try to steer away from personally. So, in this post, I want to talk about what I am doing to form an objective political opinion.

Warning: this is a long one, so you may want to bookmark for later.

To me, it boils down to a simple 2-step process:

1. Define your values

2. Seek out high-quality information

The first step is defining your values.

Once you have a clear understanding of what you value most, you can objectively assess how closely each candidate’s policies align with these values. The easiest way for me to illustrate this process is to use myself as an example.

Here are some of my top values in order of importance (and the order matters)

1. Health

2. Safety and security

3. Individual freedom

4. Wealth and economic prosperity

5. Meritocracy

Now, I’ll elaborate on each of these in more detail.

This is where I dedicate most of my time, energy, and focus, along with a significant amount of my financial resources.

I'm constantly thinking about things like longevity, disease prevention, nutrition, exercise, sleep, and supplementation from an individual perspective and things like the food and healthcare system from a societal perspective. I understand most people aren't as interested in these topics as I am, but this area is huge for me.

Over the past few years, anyone paying attention has noticed a significant health crisis in the United States. We are spending more money on healthcare while having the worst health outcomes of any developed nation, with a life expectancy seven to eight years lower and higher rates of chronic disease than the top countries. The question is why?

I used to think it all came down to personal responsibility. People are not eating well, not moving enough, not sleeping well, and disrupting their circadian biology. And yes, this is true. However, I’ve recently learned there are also systemic reasons for the U.S.'s poor health outcomes.

Specifically, things like food quality, water quality, soil quality, and agricultural practices are all compromised because of greed and corruption in the highest levels of government. The U.S. allows more toxic chemicals into its food system than most other countries.

For example, Europe does not allow these chemicals, and people often report feeling better after eating pizza, pastries, and bread while on vacation there. They don't feel as bloated and have better energy. This raises an objective question about what the U.S. permits in its food supply.

The health crisis is a massive problem that has serious downstream consequences beyond just the longevity of U.S. citizens such as rising healthcare costs. Until this election cycle, it was mostly ignored. But now RFK Jr., an advocate for health, disease prevention, and food quality standards, has joined forces with Trump and is promising to take action. This made me stop and take notice, as one side is clearly more intent on addressing this issue than the other.

This applies both at a domestic level (personal safety and security for myself and my family), and at a global level.

Domestically, I feel we need to have a hard, unapologetic stance on violent crime while also doing everything we can to prevent it. In general, the Republican Party seems more willing to be tough on violent crime and prosecute criminals, regardless of their race or ethnicity.

On the other hand, the Democratic Party seems more in favor of gun control. I personally believe there should be no guns allowed in our country. I know that's a big anti-Republican stance, but if you want less gun violence, then this is the obvious solution.

The UK has implemented increasingly strict gun control measures since the 1990s and continues to have a significantly lower homicide rate compared to countries with less restrictive gun laws, like the United States.

Global safety and security is another important issue because nuclear war is potentially the most immediate and urgent existential threat to us.

In 2016, I thought Trump was more likely to get us into a World War III type situation (because this was the mainstream narrative), but as I've listened to him speak in long-form interviews, I've changed my perspective.

Now, I believe he is actually more likely to keep us out of a World War III because the leaders of dangerous countries are willing to meet and negotiate with him. Media portrays this negatively when Trump says he “gets along with” these dictators, but I view it as a positive. Because who are you more likely to nuke? Someone you have no relationship with, or someone you have met and negotiated with?

This is another issue I value at both an individual and national level. I want to be wealthy and prosperous myself, and I also want my country to be wealthy and prosperous.

There are clear advantages to being the most prosperous country in the world. In general, when a country is better off, its citizens will also be better off. It's like a rising tide lifts all ships. And historically, that's what we've been for the past century. But currently, there's a huge problem with the national debt.

It seems like nobody on the left is willing to address it. But on the right, you have people like Elon Musk, who has a plan to ensure that we bring in more money than we pay out. National debt is at an all-time high and on the verge of becoming unsustainable. When this happens to a business, the business goes bankrupt. The same is true for a nation.

This is such a fundamental issue that I can't believe it's not being addressed by both sides. This is an area where I believe we need a complete overhaul of the government, how it functions, and how it spends taxpayer dollars. Trump has tipped Elon to lead this and I trust him to do a better job than anyone who has ever held that responsibility because he has proven himself as one of the smartest and most innovative problem solvers in the world.

I've always been an independent-minded person.

I enjoy taking accountability for my well-being and solving my own problems to the best of my ability. I value freedom of speech, less regulation, and smaller government, in general. This raises the question of who is going to give people more individual freedoms.

I'm mixed on this one because both sides have pros and cons. I'm definitely pro-choice (left ideal) but also against things like vaccine mandates and censorship (right ideals) for the same reason. These regulations violate individual freedoms. Now there’s some nuance here and this gets back to where the order of values matter.

In general, I support more individual freedom, but not at all costs. To me, when individual freedom compromises the safety and security of others, it’s no longer worth it. When it puts people's safety at risk, there must be a hard line. This is why I’m against the right to own guns even though this represents one of the highest forms of individual freedom.

This value has a lot of gray on both sides, which requires close examination on what each party is doing across a number of issues.

This seems like a common sense one to me.

I don't know why this is even an issue that needs to be raised because it should just be a given in a modern, civilized, well-functioning society. Nonetheless, it is (and this exemplifies how much we have regressed in certain ways). Because of the woke mentality and the idea of equity at all costs, meritocracy has come into question.

If you haven’t sensed my position on this, I want the people who are going to do the best job to have that job without worrying about optics or diversity or anything that could compromise a high-functioning society. That might sound harsh to some people. You obviously want to give people equal opportunities to become the best versions of themselves, but granting equal outcomes is not that. In fact, it disincentivizes betterment.

Meritocracy produces a safer, more prosperous, and more independent society which supports many of my other values. When you sacrifice meritocracy, then you get the opposite effect. And I think that unfortunately, to some degree, we're starting to see that creep into our systems and organizations.

Okay, now the first and most important step is done.

This actually makes the rest of the process easier because once you are clear about your values, you are less likely to be swayed by less substantial things like allegations and attacks on character.

Actually let me touch on this for a minute...

Of course morals and ethics matter, but these are largely subjective things that are more easily manipulated by media, so basing your opinion solely on them means little to no emphasis on policies and actual outcomes.

It just doesn’t make sense to focus on insults, name calling, and petty nonsense when societal health, economic prosperity, safety, security, and civility are literally at stake. But that’s just my opinion.

Instead, I try to ask myself if either candidate were to win, how is society likely to be better or worse off? What is my best objective assessment of how things will play out in alignment with my values? This is where I try to formulate most of my opinions. Which brings me back to media.

First, know that discerning information isn’t easy.

I'll often see a take or a story on X, and I think it seems credible, but I honestly have no idea if it’s true. Like how are you supposed to know if you’re not actually in the room? You don’t. I do my best with it, but I understand it's impossible to really know what is true and what is not when you're getting your information from other people.

You also must be aware of your own personal biases. I see things occasionally, and think, “That seems to align with my values, so I hope it's true.” I've seen a lot of that type of stuff recently, and I've seen the opposite too, where it’s like, “Man, I hope that's not true because it doesn't align with my values at all.” It’s messy, to say the least.

As I alluded to earlier, when collecting the necessary information for your assessment, you cannot rely solely on mainstream media. These institutions are highly biased (everyone on both sides already knows and admits this). And as such, they are not incentivized to help you make informed decisions. What many people might not understand is just how corrupt and manipulative they are. X has exposed a lot of this and it’s truly shocking.

Consuming alternative independent media, such as X, long-form podcasts, and unscripted interviews, provides a deeper understanding of the topics at hand. For example, Joe Rogan and Lex Fridman host podcasts that delve into subjects for two to three hours, offering deep insights and nuanced discussion.

That's not to say that the people I listen to are not biased at all; it's more that the information is presented in a way that allows people like me who aren’t interested in the tribalism to develop an informed opinion.

Of course, people are going to lie, especially in politics, that’s just a given. But assuming everyone is lying all the time is not helpful. You still need to use your judgment, and I’ve found long-form independent media to be infinitely better than mainstream media in facilitating this.

This post went longer than I expected. If you’ve made it this far, thanks for hearing me out.

If you found this helpful, I encourage you to do your own inner soul searching into what’s truly important to you and maybe even write it down like I did. It’s never too early or too late and you can always change your mind. Remember I began this process this year at 40 years old, having previously paid very little attention to politics. However, I now see its importance.

Finally, you must have a thick skin and be civil when discussing these topics with friends and family whose views may be contrary to yours or heavily influenced by mainstream media. Recognize that they have good intentions and want positive outcomes for the country, even if their values differ.

For instance, I totally get that someone whose highest values are diversity, equity, and moral character may have a different political opinion than someone like me whose highest values are health, security, and economic prosperity. I might not agree with them, but I can see how they get there.

There is no good vs. evil battle here. We are one nation with two parties and both sides can have the nation’s best interest at heart.

At the end of the day, I honestly don't care what side you're on or what conclusion you come to, as long as you approach it in a way that is truth-seeking to the best of your ability and isn't tribal, divisive, or filled with hatred. If you can do this, I think you'll be in a good spot and more tolerant of others, which is what we need to unite our country.

Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this post, subscribe at the bottom of the page, if you haven't already, to get the next one sent to you. I'll also keep you updated on other things I'm working on. You can also check out my info products linked below. Until next time, try not to suck at life.