The Problem with Political Commentary

The pitfall of making political takes your job

I keep revisiting why I made this Substack. The initial idea is that this place would be where I write what I want. A place to experiment with comedy and other ideas.

A while ago, I started taking in paid subscribers because, well, money is nice (it can be exchanged for goods and services) and it’s actually a big motivator for writing. I got an initial surge of subscribers, but the number of paid subscribers has plateaued for quite some time. And every once in a while, I start thinking: What can I write that will attract more paid subscribers?

But if I really follow that path, then this becomes something different, doesn’t it? It’s not about what I find funny, but instead it will be about what a potential audience might find entertaining. It’s not so much a passion as a job.

I mean, big whoop for what’s mainly a bunch of silly posts, right? Silly posts done from the heart and silly posts done specifically for an audience are still silly posts.

But what if instead of silly posts, I wrote primarily political commentary? So instead of writing just what I actually believe, I start tailoring what I say to what brings in an audience. Now, I’m arguing with passion things I might not actually think are true, but instead are just things I think will get people to read me.

I think more people would find that problematic. Politics is supposed to be important. Who is elected and what laws are passed actually affect people, so being disingenuous about the politics you argue can make this country a worse place to be. Treating it just as entertainment — especially if you’re not clear you’re arguing things just for entertainment value — seems bad.

But isn’t this a nearly unavoidable trap when you make your living off your political commentary?