I do not follow German/EU politics for that reason. I did follow the US elections out of interest and believed that I would be sufficiently detached and neutral—and it still took some share of attention.
In terms of topics (generally, not EU or US), I think it makes sense to have an idea of crime and healthcare etc. - but not on the day-by-day basis, because there is too much short-term information warfare going on (see below). Following decent bloggers or reading papers about longer-term trends makes sense though.
Politicians’ political beliefs
Politicians’ personal lives
I think that is almost hopeless without deep inside knowledge. There is too much Simulacrum Levels 3 and 4 communication going on. When a politician says: “I will make sure that America produces more oil.” What does that mean? It surely doesn’t mean that the politician will make sure that America produces more oil. It means (or could mean):
The general population hears: “Oil prices will go down.”
Oil-producers hear: “Regulations may be relaxed about producing oil in America.”
Other countries hear: “America wants to send us a signal that they may compete on oil.”
…
Who are the parties the message is directed to, and how will they hear it? It is hard to know without a lot of knowledge about the needed messaging. It is a bit like the stock/crypto market: When you buy (or sell), you have to know why the person who is selling (or buying) your share doing so? If you don’t know, then, likely, you are the one making a loss. If you don’t know who the message is directed to, you cannot interpret it properly.
And you can’t go by the literal words. Or rather, the literal words are likely directed to somebody too (probably intellectuals, but what do I know) and likely intended to distract them.
I do not follow German/EU politics for that reason. I did follow the US elections out of interest and believed that I would be sufficiently detached and neutral—and it still took some share of attention.
In terms of topics (generally, not EU or US), I think it makes sense to have an idea of crime and healthcare etc. - but not on the day-by-day basis, because there is too much short-term information warfare going on (see below). Following decent bloggers or reading papers about longer-term trends makes sense though.
I think that is almost hopeless without deep inside knowledge. There is too much Simulacrum Levels 3 and 4 communication going on. When a politician says: “I will make sure that America produces more oil.” What does that mean? It surely doesn’t mean that the politician will make sure that America produces more oil. It means (or could mean):
The general population hears: “Oil prices will go down.”
Oil-producers hear: “Regulations may be relaxed about producing oil in America.”
Other countries hear: “America wants to send us a signal that they may compete on oil.”
…
Who are the parties the message is directed to, and how will they hear it? It is hard to know without a lot of knowledge about the needed messaging. It is a bit like the stock/crypto market: When you buy (or sell), you have to know why the person who is selling (or buying) your share doing so? If you don’t know, then, likely, you are the one making a loss. If you don’t know who the message is directed to, you cannot interpret it properly.
And you can’t go by the literal words. Or rather, the literal words are likely directed to somebody too (probably intellectuals, but what do I know) and likely intended to distract them.