The White Parasol

11 Aug, 2008

What is politics about?

Posted by: edb In: Contemporary Life| Sillies or Sinners

Politics is about anything other than the truth.

It can’t ever be about the truth because where ever you have two people pursuing political aims, you have the beginning of the deceit; where you have three, you have the beginning of siding with the one most able to press your own buttons. The truth gets lost in the interests of self-interest.

If there is a politician who is capable of standing up impartially for the truth, then their party will get rid of them as they are of no use to party-interests and narrow national interests.

So those who are left are the ones who will act in self-interest, party-interest and national interest, in that order.

There are always people looking for a podium upon which to place their particular inadequacy or “chip on their shoulder”, so that they can ‘become’ “something important”. Clubs with members and political parties are good places to do this as you can practise on all kinds of people, press buttons, get alliances, build walls (or bridges) and generally give yourself a reason to live. Which means that they are sad people; politicians who get ’somewhere’ in national politics are the cream of the notoriously inadequate with good suits on and expense accounts.

Don’t be deceived by their education, intelligence or presentational skills.  But then perhaps we do get the governments we deserve and, if that is so, there is more to this than just determining that politicians are a sad, bad bunch.   The other side to this has to be considered and shall be as in do we really determine the type of people who become our politicians because our own desires and truths are other than those that we profess to hold?  If that is so then there is a whole different story to this and it shall come as the counterbalance to this one.  Pondering as ever. . .(© 2008 Eileen Baker)

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about the brolly thing

The White Parasol is our (see "about little me and mrs. overall) umbrella where reflections on the confluence of religious,spiritual and modern, everyday life - with all its conflicting issues - can be looked at without and with prejudices. A practical emphasis to provide another way of looking at the bigger picture, in the midst of the ordinary material life, but without theological restriction (which doesn't mean that it is to be disregarded either). The parasol is to protect us from the heat that the issues generate theologically and politically. To propose and discuss,listen to and open up to, other perspectives without fear of getting burnt, in the hope of moving onwards. A belief is not necessarily a reality or a truth, but a programming. The overriding approach: "Faith is about searching for the truth without fear, so it doesn't matter if we lose all of our beliefs.." (from a compilation of ancient wisdoms spanning all religions in Anthony De Mello's "Song of the Bird). But can we question,without fear,issues which shape families, towns, nations and what wars are made of? Well if all the political diplomacy we have had since time immemorial can deliver only a war-torn earth, even in contemporary and "more enlightened" times two thousand years after Christ came to bring peace, perhaps we should dare to.