In Defense of Politics

Recently, a friend of mine was thinking about starting a website to promote political activism, non-partisan, online community where people could come together to exchange ideas and organize political action. Personally, I thought this was a great idea, and being a political being myself was static to see it grow. However, when the time came to develop the core values and mission that would define the organization, he put together a group of young business minds that worship profit over everything else, including politics.

This made me start thinking about the world of politics and the skills that are required to navigate the industry. While it is true that politicians have been earning a certain reputation lately, does that mean that politics is not worthy of proper consideration? Maybe some politicians have forgotten what it is that brought them to public service and have become puppets, and sure, maybe the Supreme Court facilitates all of this. But there are two important things to remember: 1. Politics is bigger than your local elected politicians; it is everywhere and affects everyone, and 2. The abstract concept that we often tag as politics is not so abstract; it is composed of a group of highly educated and highly devoted men and women.

The thing with politics is that, against popular belief, it is not a man-made industry. There was never a question as to whether men should invent politics. The desire to lead or be led has been in our human nature since the development of the frontal lobe, it is this tendency to group into ranks that has allowed civilizations to come together and expand. So, for us to think that politics doesn’t affect us, that it is not a central part of who we are, or that it does not deserve our time is simply a ludicrous conviction.

Politics is one of the world’s major driving forces. For as long as we can trace it it has been evolving and adjusting, it has worn many hats and taken all sorts of shapes, some people hate it, some love it, but everybody is part of it.

I think we should consider ourselves lucky that there are still people out there who care, people that are not giving up on us and still devote their lives to bettering the political system we are dependent on. And it is not easy. There are no clear answers in politics and there is no obvious way to make everybody happy; it is all a frustrating process of trial and error. Political theories that work so well on paper come crashing down in the moment that the human factor is added. Yet, there are still strong and devoted souls that continue to put all their efforts into promoting political wealth and stability.

And I am grateful for them. I mean can you imagine a world without politics? You can’t, primarily because such scenario has never exited, and secondly, because if it were to exist the earth would be a terrifying place to live in. Try to think about modern life anarchy for a second. Think about the United States without a regulatory agency that controlled crime, commerce, infrastructure, education, national security, etc. Are we really prepared to put all these tasks on the hands nobody? The answer is No. I don’t know one single person that is comfortable with complete chaos. Naturally, it occurs to me that a political system of some kind is indispensible.

So, going back to my original point, if politics is as important as it is, and has been present for as many centuries as it has, what makes us think that politicians don’t have considerable training on the subject, and a deep understanding of the industry? Furthermore, if we expand the term politician to all active members of the political circle and include critics, analysts, speculators and even aficionados, it would be plain obnoxious to think for a second that anyone without knowledge and/or interest in the subject could do what they do. That my friend thinks he can enter the world of politics and social movements with a team that lacks the interest in the industry is not only comical but also a little insulting to the ones of us that do care.

Politics deserves more respect than that; it is a long-standing institution that has been serving us for as long as we can remember for no other reason than we need it. And while some people might think of this world as a group of dumb politicians, the truth is that politics encompasses everyone from legislators, to political analysts and commentators, to the armed forces and everyone in between. It includes everyone that has ever called the police or firefighters, received an unemployment check, or even crossed the road for that matter - who do you think that took care of building those roads and install traffic lights? I encourage everybody to partake in politics, the more people that take a stand and work towards a better, more honest future in government the better. All I say is that we should not to underestimate those who are already involved in public service because no matter how rough times might seem now, it is nothing in comparison to what it would be without them.