Is it just me?

I can never figure out which has changed, my perspective or the world around me. Until recently I never paid much attention to politics, to me they were just that. Politics. But now I follow things quite closely and have opinions that a couple years ago I would have never been able to justify. It really seems that this election has stirred a lot of people. I think that many, myself included, are waking up to what's going on in the world around us. I mean, I've always voted, although I can't say I was properly educated when it came to election and politcal knowledge. But I knew a lot of people who didn't vote because they just didn't see the need to.

This was the 3rd presidential election I've been eligible to vote in (I've voted in all 3). Maybe I was sheltered in my younger years, but it seemed that when I was growing up, everything was just fine. Nothing bad was happening, or at least nothing (when I say nothing I mean on the scale of things going on now) that I ever saw in my limited media exposure. So many people my age grew up just assuming things would always be fine, no problem, you know, there was no real reason for people to educate themselves and take a stand on issues and voice their opinions.

Now all those people, again, myself included, are saying, "Holy shit" what's going on, and are educating themselves. Or maybe it's just me?