I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again – politics is for losers.

Often, I see people posting on social media about politics. People are angry; they want change, they want their voices heard. But they are just shouting into the wilderness – yelling at their television or leaving snarky Facebook comments won’t change a thing. It might feel good to be morally virtuous, but it’s ultimately a self-defeating behavior.

Now, it’s not to say that one shouldn’t pay attention to politics in the sense that one should always be gleaming for ways to advance their own interests. Government has a lot of money and offers a lot of little-used services, often a bit hidden. It’s always good to look at new angles to see how you can maximize your own advantage. But it’s not a big piece of legislation that will make your life better or a specific party winning a political office. It’s the little things that you can exploit for personal advantage.

When your not a loser, your focus is about manipulating the system in small ways to make your life better. Maybe it’s a patronage job that brings home the big bucks. Maybe it’s the zoning or permit you get by developing a relationship with the planning or zoning board. Or the one denied to your competitors, giving you a strategic advantage. There is a lot out there in the system, if you know how to play it.

People should stop thinking about how they can improve their community, and focus more how they can improve their own lives. Maybe more people need to ask the question, not what can I do for my country, but instead, what can for my country do for me?