There is something I would like to call a "politics fear syndrome".
Apparently peaceful mind people like to express the idea of a profound dislike for politics. They would say "I don't like to be involved in politics", "I don't like the politics part of it", etc, and blah blah blah...
Oh well, I think this far from being a peaceful state of mind, it is a coward escape from reality to a safe untouchable place inside their inner selves, where they can hide from the responsibility to actually have a say or make a change.
When discussing or analyzing ideas and believes, which generate behavior patterns, I like to make reference to etymology (check this online dictionary), or the origin or roots of words, their meanings and understandings - or should I say misunderstandings? Anyway, whatever we use as symbols of communication which create this Babel tower we all live in.
That being said, let's go to the roots of the word "politics". It derives from the Greek word "polis" which means city/state or a group of citizens. Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions, and it is observed in all human group interactions. Any social relation that involves group decision making, hierarchy or authority is a political unit, and uses methods or tactics to formulate and apply policies or rules.
If that’s what politics means, how can someone be “out” of politics? The only way to be out of politics is to isolate oneself from any group’s interaction, either being a part of a group as a follower or as part of the decision maker. Now here there is another question, how can a human survive out of group or social interactions with other humans, where you get involved into their particular politics?
I don’t have all the answers, and it is not my intention to be the bearer of the truth. There might be some humans who live in isolation for their own choice of avoiding human interactions and politics. But I haven’t met one yet. Almost everybody is involved in some kind of social group, being it a friends group, a sports group, an arts group, a work group, a study group, and further more, bigger society groups like governments and others.
Anyway, seeing that we all are involved in one or another social group, we cannot avoid the particular politics of the group we belong to. Humans feel the need to belong to a social group, but fear the involvement of themselves with the politics of the group itself. It is contradictory, and it creates more conflict then the politics themselves. The politics of a group are created by the authority of the group to direct the group to the accomplishment of the group’s particular goals. Without the set of rules created either by the authority of the group, or a decision making group within the bigger group itself, the group would hardly get organized enough to accomplish anything. Meaning that without the politics, the group won’t get to accomplish much as a group.
The politics involved in a group are like the link that keeps the individuals of the group moving to a particular direction. So when a member of a group says “I don’t want to be involved in the politics”, does it mean that this individual doesn’t want to part of the group? Or does it mean that facing the conflicts inherent to the setting of rules or the setting of the politics that will identify the personality and goals of the group is something this individual has difficulties with? I don’t know, I am trying to understand this point.
Why is it that creating a set of rules, and the identity of a group, which involves creating the groups politics, turns into a confrontation that people in general fear to face? Why are these kinds of conflicts so hardly avoided by most? This cowardly position might explain the lack of accomplishment most of the human groups face, leading towards their dissolution.
I guess that to face politics is something that requires character strength, assurance of the objectives and difficulties to be faced, and also flexibility to move along changes of its own politics. Persevering on flexible politics might be the key for successfully accomplishing the goals of a group.
Apparently peaceful mind people like to express the idea of a profound dislike for politics. They would say "I don't like to be involved in politics", "I don't like the politics part of it", etc, and blah blah blah...
Oh well, I think this far from being a peaceful state of mind, it is a coward escape from reality to a safe untouchable place inside their inner selves, where they can hide from the responsibility to actually have a say or make a change.
When discussing or analyzing ideas and believes, which generate behavior patterns, I like to make reference to etymology (check this online dictionary), or the origin or roots of words, their meanings and understandings - or should I say misunderstandings? Anyway, whatever we use as symbols of communication which create this Babel tower we all live in.
That being said, let's go to the roots of the word "politics". It derives from the Greek word "polis" which means city/state or a group of citizens. Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions, and it is observed in all human group interactions. Any social relation that involves group decision making, hierarchy or authority is a political unit, and uses methods or tactics to formulate and apply policies or rules.
If that’s what politics means, how can someone be “out” of politics? The only way to be out of politics is to isolate oneself from any group’s interaction, either being a part of a group as a follower or as part of the decision maker. Now here there is another question, how can a human survive out of group or social interactions with other humans, where you get involved into their particular politics?
I don’t have all the answers, and it is not my intention to be the bearer of the truth. There might be some humans who live in isolation for their own choice of avoiding human interactions and politics. But I haven’t met one yet. Almost everybody is involved in some kind of social group, being it a friends group, a sports group, an arts group, a work group, a study group, and further more, bigger society groups like governments and others.
Anyway, seeing that we all are involved in one or another social group, we cannot avoid the particular politics of the group we belong to. Humans feel the need to belong to a social group, but fear the involvement of themselves with the politics of the group itself. It is contradictory, and it creates more conflict then the politics themselves. The politics of a group are created by the authority of the group to direct the group to the accomplishment of the group’s particular goals. Without the set of rules created either by the authority of the group, or a decision making group within the bigger group itself, the group would hardly get organized enough to accomplish anything. Meaning that without the politics, the group won’t get to accomplish much as a group.
The politics involved in a group are like the link that keeps the individuals of the group moving to a particular direction. So when a member of a group says “I don’t want to be involved in the politics”, does it mean that this individual doesn’t want to part of the group? Or does it mean that facing the conflicts inherent to the setting of rules or the setting of the politics that will identify the personality and goals of the group is something this individual has difficulties with? I don’t know, I am trying to understand this point.
Why is it that creating a set of rules, and the identity of a group, which involves creating the groups politics, turns into a confrontation that people in general fear to face? Why are these kinds of conflicts so hardly avoided by most? This cowardly position might explain the lack of accomplishment most of the human groups face, leading towards their dissolution.
I guess that to face politics is something that requires character strength, assurance of the objectives and difficulties to be faced, and also flexibility to move along changes of its own politics. Persevering on flexible politics might be the key for successfully accomplishing the goals of a group.
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