It can be hard trying to convince folks here inside the Beltway, but most people don't think about politics every day.

Most people send their kids to school, schlep off to work, have a few beers (or tokes or whatever) and head off to bed, where they may (or may not) engage in sexual congress with someone. Perhaps they pass some time watching a basketball (or football or baseball or hockey or soccer or...) game. Maybe they (gasp!) read a book. Maybe they watch the latest "Girl, it ain't just you" movie on the Lifetime Movie Network. Maybe they cruise the Internets in hope of finding something interesting.

What they don't do is think about politics.

In my circle, this is an almost unimaginable idea. But I know plenty of people (who do not live inside the Beltway) who live perfectly happy lives without pondering the latest events in the Middle East or even considering the notion that we might have a Communist or Nazi (y'know, the philosophies so similar that it's hard to keep them straight) as Prez.

A lot of these people don't vote at all. And they don't worry about it. And things seem to work out anyway.

Maybe there's something to this. After all, politics in America seem to have become simply another reality TV show--one that's being produced full-time by at least five English-language networks and by an increasing number of foreign-language outlets as well. Is there any substance left in American politics, or are we simply left with dueling story lines?

I vote for substance, if only because politics is more like sports than other reality TV subjects. For starters, there are winners and losers. The races aren't fixed. Votes are cast, and champions are crowned. That's the essence of sports. And if you're looking for a "regular season," you need look no further than the extended presidential primaries leading up to the 2008 election. Weren't you glad to finally get to the playoffs? I know I was.

But just as there are an awful lot of people who have no idea who Zack Grienke might be (the horror!), there are plenty of folks who are only marginally aware of the name of the Prez. Vice Prez? Fuggetaboutit! And these folks are just as American as those of us who obsess over such things.

The nice thing about America is that our government (mostly) works. We fall down from time to time (Katrina is but one of the latest examples), but most of the time our government is so competent and relatively uncorrupted that it works very well even for those who pay no attention to who's in charge.

Want a driver's license? As long as your paperwork is in order (which can be dicey in our post-9/11 world) and you pass the necessary tests, you can get one. Want to move to another neighborhood, city, state or even country? Go ahead. No one's gonna stop you. Want to stand in front of the White House and hurl insults at the Prez? As long as you aren't lobbing threats, the cops won't stop you. They might even protect your right to do so.

See, everyone in this country agrees about much more than we disagree. We all agree that it's nice to live in a country that works for almost everyone. And we mostly agree on the reasons why our country works. Within certain loose parameters, people are given the freedom to try new things and to make ours a more perfect union. We might disagree about the width of the parameters of our freedom, but that is more quibbling than a real disagreement.

People who don't hold your views aren't crazy. Well, some of them are, but so are some of the people who hold your views. There are nuts in every tree you shake. Argue for what you believe in. Or don't argue, if you so desire.

It's quite possible to have a long, happy life as an American without any involvement in politics. That's not my choice, but if it works for you, go for it. After all, this is America. No one can tell you what to believe.

I think we can all agree on that.

Jon Worley occasionally thinks about things other than politics. Baseball comes to mind.