Stop Stanning Politicians: Putting Politicians on a Pedastal is Irresponsible

**This story reflects the opinion of one individual staffer, not the opinion of The Harbinger Staff as a whole

Politicians are not celebrities.

I know that statement seems arbitrary, but now more than ever politicians are being idolized — or stanned if you will — too easily and treated more like celebrities than actual change makers. 

While it’s become popular to rave about your favorite politician’s smart remarks or aesthetic style, the line between supporting and idolizing can become murky. Yes, glorifying witty comebacks can be easy — cue “Mr. Vice President, I’m speaking” montage — but we also have to be wary of who we are really supporting, bad sides and all.

I am in no way saying that a T-shirt or bumper sticker in support of your favorite politician is wrong. If you support their policies and what they stand for as a politician, good for you. However, if you’re seeking out information like their go-to Starbucks order or their pets’ names, there might be some problems.

When a politician’s career becomes someone’s obsession — and policy barely even comes up in the conversation — they can lose sight of what they’re actually glorifying. When treating a politician as a celebrity, their “fans” tend to put them on a pedestal and see them as perfect human beings. 

But, there are no perfect politicians.

A huge factor of this ability to idolize politicians is the echo-chamber of everyone’s thoughts: social media. Apps like Twitter and Instagram make it painlessly easy for users to share and amplify their love for celebrities: that idolization can quickly turn towards politicians. 

When I see posts about how cute Joe Biden’s smile is or how adorably he eats ice cream, I wince in disbelief. People are entitled to their own feelings, but the hype about those random things is honestly disgusting when they’re talking about an incredibly powerful politician. We shouldn’t be praising the president-elect for eating ice cream, while downplaying his multiple problematic slip-ups, for instance referring to Black voters as “not black enough” if they don’t vote for him.

The same can be said for Donald Trump. Whenever I’m scrolling through my explore page on Instagram, I’ll occasionally come across a piece of fan art that depicts Trump praying to Jesus and asking him for guidance running the country. Donald Trump — the man with three wives, controversies with porn stars and once a close friend of Jeffery Epstein — is clearly on a direct call with Jesus Christ.

“Celebritizing” a politician makes people gloss over important issues the politicians either want or don’t want to tackle. We have seen politicians — the same people who will make decisions on foreign relations and war — give “Vogue Magazine” beauty tips. It’s nice to see them treated as humans, but unlike celebrities, politicians are literally funded by the American people to create change. 

We need to start looking at politicians with more of an objective lens, even if fun for some people to find entertainment in politics. Change is needed on both sides — media and individuals should be more objective when it comes to the way they portray and think about politicians.

When politicians are broadcasted on pop culture media outlets like Vanity Fair or GQ, they’re shown in a light-hearted, playful way, which can be relieving. However, this leads to the infatuation with them as celebrities rather than politicians. Being infatuated with a politician makes it hard to hold them accountable because they seem “too special” to their fans.

Taking a more holistic approach towards a politician guarantees transparency for everything they have done. Instead of praising someone like Congress representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for talking about her skincare routine, we should instead be focused on understanding her policies like the Green New Deal, an ambitious climate plan that has many riled up over its extremeness. 

It would be better for media outlets to let politicians explain their ideas and answer pressing questions, rather than asking their “favorite celebrity crush” or “shopping must-haves.” Their policy is more important than fun-fact trivia you can find on their wiki page.

If a politician is seen as more of a person whose job is to dictate the country’s operations, rather than a personality who lives in DC, people will have more initiative to do their own research and hold them accountable for their actions.

It’s very apparent how celebritized certain politicians have become, and with that comes high expectations. Politicians are bound to make choices that are not attractive or well-liked — so your similar music taste with Nancy Pelosi isn’t grounds for looking past her choices and failing to hold her accountable — like trying to cover up the government’s role in the 2008 recession.

The inner workings of the American government sometimes seem like a soap opera, but keep in mind that these are people who get paid to debate on behalf of America’s well-being, not for our amusement.