I keep writing boring poems about politics. I am processing, trying to get my head around a beast of an idea. I remember being at sixth form college in 1987 and there was a debating society, which tackled the thorny issue of fox hunting, a popular activity in Surrey at that time.
Today, it would be contenscious to attempt to lay out both sides of that debate. There are two sides of everything but there is only one set of facts. However the facts would not all lie on one side. There is no right or wrong, but the political movement surrounding this debate would say otherwise and aim to eradicate their opposition. We can look at fox hunting from the view of the farmer, the local fox population, the horse, the beagles, the people who keep the beagles, the horse mounted hunter, the beater, the animal rights campaigner, the conservationist, the trees and those who profit from the hunt. There are also honest decent people and entitled people with a personal agenda.
In terms of eradicating opposition, I believe this is the main problem with politics. Tactics, which people use to say “I am right and you are wrong” go from a fantastic discussion in the pub over a pint, pie and a game of chess right through to genocide. Politicians, journalists, lawyers and spin doctors all learn to see things from different points of view in order to come up with a story that backs up their argument.
Surely, you can only “fight the good fight” if the lawyer starts from “innocent until proven guilty”, the journalist to seek the truth from the start without preconceived ideas or the politician to weigh up the interests of all stakeholders, hear everyone’s arguments before genuinely planning how to do what is in the best interests of the nation?
Sadly, politics has become more about power and control, which seem to be addictive for people to whom it can be applied without being shown the ropes and being told about the pitfalls. Politics is like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, in which various characters perish along the way; Augustus Gloop’s greed and recklessness, Violet Beauregarde’s impatience and disobedience, Veruca Salt’s selfishness and demands, and Mike Teevee’s cynicism and lack of respect. Charlie’s own mistake of drinking the Fizzy Lifting Drinks is also a key moment, as it is a form of theft that almost costs him the factory and his potential inheritance. This last moment is resolved by Charlie’s honesty and humility to admit and correct his mistake and recover his journey.
Therefore, surviving politics may require a managed ego, with power viewed as a tool to make change rather than feather one’s own nest. The same concept could be applied to recreational or therapeutic drugs such as acid, which was experimented with early on to help veterans get over shell shock. Give any willing human an addictive substance and they would be likely to want another hit.
I like people. I have never been for or against any group of people. My dim view of politicians only extends to actions and attitudes committed by individuals, I do not even dislike politicians. Those that remain professional and are motivated to debate and create policies, which are representational, objective and which meet the needs of the entire spectrum of those involved as possible have my total respect and admiration. For those that identify, discuss and stand against tyranny, my admiration is limitless.
We all do our best but how do we perceive and judge others? Do we see ourselves as equal to all others or superior? Do we have more power than others or less? Do we have an ear that others do not have and therefore ought not to use? I was brought up with priviledge and taught that I had not earned it and therefore it was to be shared with those who had not been born with it. People who take their priviledge for granted are, in my view, entitled.
Why is it important to listen to others and understand their viewpoint before responding? Everyone represents something, which could be a mix of their experience, circumstance, identity, inheritance and education. I believe our opinions and attitudes evolve from a variety of sources. This is why I think we need to start from scratch without any preconceived ideas or agendas and work step-by-step until we have gathered as complete a picture of understanding before we draw conclusions.
Cognitive dissonance. This is a surefire way to spot bias and subjective viewpoint. The story of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory works brilliantly to show how agenda or selfishness catch us out. Have you read an article and then felt that the conclusions being drawn contradict the facts presented? That is cognitive dissonance. Said another way, it just feels wrong.
Today, white men are over-represented in positions of power and influence. Without transparency in Westminster we cannot see who has earned their power and who has snatched it from a more deserving representative of the people. Political activism is rife and being projected onto the general public. However, political activists have an agenda, the general public want the truth.
In 1987, before I could vote, I went to a friend’s house for election night and they were all Labour supporter and I had been raised in a Conservative household. I spent an enjoyable evening debating each of the policies being voted for by those over the age of 18 from a Tory perspective, which I had been raised on. Over the course of the evening, the socialism which I understand was passed down from my maternal grandmother, emerged making me into the Socialist Soph I still am today.
So what is socialism? In my view it is politics that benefits the most people in society rather than the few. That is what it means to me. Therefore, instead of following capitalism to the letter and laying people off or raising prices, I might consider improving working conditions to reduce the costs of hiring new staff. However, the capitalist world would legislate against that as I would be legally bound to shareholders to keep increasing their dividends. Therefore experiments to increase dividends in new, exciting and less masculine ways would land me in hot water.
Political activism does not benefit the many or even the many who support it. Foxes don’t benefit from banning the hunt any more than the trans community benefit from taking over women’s spaces. Jewish people around the world are certainly not benefitting from Netanyahu’s right wing coalition government and settlers taking over land previously owned by Palestinians. Religious hate crime has increased, especially against Jewish people.
Being born in 1970, I have always been aware of anti-semitism. Many otherwise decent people make prejudiced remarks against Jewish people, blaming them for things used against them by Hitler’s regime. As I grew older, I understood that fascism wanted everyone to be the same and think the same. It wants no one to question those in power or threaten their control. I disagree with homogeonity and only want a diverse world in which everyone is equal, represented and catered for, allowed to share their viewpoints, to listen to others and respond directly to to challenge anything they disagree with.
We cannot achieve this with personal judgment, criticism, labelling, name-calling, abuse, cancellation, censorship, propaganda or threat. Political activism is the Veruca Salt of politics.
Dairy of A Nonny Moose 