“I don’t do politics”

This statement often sounds like a personal preference. But the reason you don’t pick sides, voice your opinions, fight or protest is because your privilege protects you from either extreme.

Politics impacts everyone.

Your existence itself is political. The air we breathe, the food we eat, the water we drink, and whatever we do in our daily lives. The prices we pay, the opportunities we get, the quality of our education, the services we receive, all depend on the people in power. Being apolitical is not about being neutral, it’s choosing not to care.

You exist within a jurisdiction. Long before you learn to speak, laws have already defined many of your rights, responsibilities, and freedoms. Politics doesn’t stop affecting you when you’ve decided you’re not interested in it. It’s like treating basic human rights like a group project. Opting out and still expecting the grade.

Politics bleeds through the cracks of the walls we build to keep it out. We may convince ourselves that politics belongs only in parliaments or election rallies, but it does not stay confined there. It follows us into our homes through the cost of groceries, into our hospitals through the quality of healthcare, into our classrooms through our education, into our workplaces through labor laws and economic decisions. It shapes the freedom we often take for granted. Even those who insist they are "not political" continue to live under laws they did not write, institutions they did not build, and policies that influence nearly every aspect of their lives. Politics is woven into the very fabric of the society we inhabit. The walls we build in an attempt to keep politics at a distance may shield us from political discussions, but they cannot shield us from political consequences.

Doing nothing is still doing something. When you choose silence, you consent to the endorsement of status quo. Choosing silence allows existing systems to continue without challenge.

Silence is not empty. It speaks. Neutrality helps the oppressor and never the victim. Silence has never been neutral. It always chooses a side. Staying apolitical won’t make your life better or peaceful. It won’t solve any problem and it definitely won’t save you from the very thing you’re running from. Whether you follow politics or not, it will follow you.

It’s always “I don’t do politics” until the gas prices soar, inflation rises and healthcare becomes unaffordable.

You don’t need to scream your opinions because you are already heard. You don’t need to pick sides because you benefit from the difficult decisions made by others. You don’t get into protests or fight for yourself because others are fighting those battles for you. You are already safe, that’s why you don’t feel the need to.

Ask yourself if you will stay this way when the tables turn? The answer is no. Because when your freedom is restricted, your silence suddenly finds a voice. Because when the system starts failing you, you demand accountability from the very institutions you once ignored.

Circumstances have a way of turning spectators into participants. Freedom today does not promise freedom tomorrow.

The walls we build between politics and ourselves crack under the weight of injustice, conflict, and loss. It is easy to dismiss politics when life is comfortable. Politics has never been confined to parliaments or election campaigns; it lives everywhere. Perhaps the real privilege is not being apolitical, but believing that it will never reach your doorstep.

The question is, when it finally does, will you still call yourself apolitical?