There are quite a few politicians who are household names, not because they serve in your area but because of their celebrity status. While it’s important to recognize politicians for their accomplishments in helping the country function, I think that putting politicians on such a high personal pedestal is harmful to both the citizens and the politicians.
Politicians are supposed to be people who are elected to represent and work for the community that they live in. That goes for all local, state and federal politicians. They’re supposed to work towards meeting the goals of the people that elected them and that they represent.
However, I’ve noticed several politicians who claim to be for the people becoming disconnected from the community they’re supposed to serve. Suddenly they’re too busy to work on community outreach outside of election season, or they’re making votes that follow their own agenda rather than their communities. People treating politicians like celebrities makes those politicians feel like they’re entitled to special treatment, like they’re more entitled to power than the people they serve.
To me, this doesn’t seem right. Politicians should treat their constituents like equals, or at least value their honest input and be open to hear them out instead of ignoring their requests and concerns. In my opinion, a good politician should be for the people they represent, and to do that they must be actively involved in the community instead of hiding away in their multimillion-dollar home.
Not only is it unfair to the constituents for politicians to be put on a higher pedestal, but it’s weird that people become so obsessed with them. While politician merchandise isn’t always weird and can be a great way of showing support, people decorating their houses, cars and wardrobes with political merchandise is just odd.
For example, people opened entire Donald Trump themed stores around the 2020 election to sell homemade Donald Trump merchandise. People made backing either Trump or Joe Biden their whole personality for a few months; I even knew a girl on campus who walked around with a Trump flag worn on her back like a cape.
It’s insane to me that politicians have become such a source of public entertainment rather than serving their communities and working towards a better future. I think people are focusing on the wrong parts of government. Every backhanded comment, argument or fashion choice gains more publicity than the way that a politician voted on important issues.
