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Politics: Retarding Progress through the Art of Advantage
Politics has been called the art of the possible. I call it the art of advantage.
Politics means that we seek to get things, to acquire or get them done and that we’ll, gladly or not, exchange something that the other person (usually considered our opponent) wants in order to do so. Of course we try not to exchange anything at all and are very careful about just what, and how much of it, we’re willing to exchange. This isn’t about compromise, where both people actually want the same thing but disagree on how to go about getting it.
Political thinking means that we don’t do things because they’re right, and we don’t refuse to do things because they’re wrong. We do them because they’re expedient and get us what we want…without regard for the intrinsic rightness of our desires, causes, etc. This can be applied to so-called environmentalists as well as to the more obviously acquisitive types. An ironic example of insidious wrongness is (the supposedly environmentally friendly) Gov. Jerry Brown’s signing a bill allowing fracking in California, a state already suffering a huge water shortage (fracking uses large amounts of water in its polluting, destabilizing process), tectonic instability, etc.
So we watch as those who are indifferent, or oblivious, to the laws of cause and effect play out and enact all sorts of political games, maneuvers and manipulations. But politics certainly isn’t about understanding and respecting the true, universal laws of life, nor the true values like love, peace, freedom and harmony, etc.; that wouldn’t seem to be expedient. Of course, when we take into account the huge, manmade disasters that have ultimately come down on us (and continue to do so) as a result of such ignorance, maybe doing things right the first time, which also includes not doing certain things just because of political pressures, would have been the best, less overall costly way to go.
It all seems so transparently obvious, futile and pathetic but it’s the game that multitudes of people have been trained to enjoy – to love – playing against their ultimate best interests.
Obviously politics isn’t about truth…anymore than religion is. So why do so many people continue to play those games?
Copyright 2011 – All Rights Reserved. Please do not copy or reproduce the content on this blog for re-publication without the author/s written permission. Thank you.
Politics: Retarding Progress through the Art of Advantage originally appeared on They Fly on February 15, 2014.
Source: http://theyflyblog.com/politics-retarding-progress-art-advantage/02/15/2014
