The present political climate reminds me of this incident that took place in the past. A well known reporter was interviewing a retiring politician. This interview got off to a good start as the reporter questioned the politician on the accomplishments of his long political career.
As the interview progressed the politician said, “I want to tell the public what politics is all about – the real story about politics, whether you are talking about dictatorships, monarchies, totalitarian rulers or democracies. It is all about power. The power to run the country how you want it to be run. It is not about the citizens of the country. It is all about you and your colleagues. Any politician that tells you that they are in it to help the citizens of their town, city, province/state, or country is telling a bald-faced lie.”
Many reading this article may find the statements made by this politician a bit shocking. I would like to think that what he was saying is an exaggeration but is it? Think about it for even 6th grade kids like Seth at Kids Speak for America see through these politicians. If kids are seeing through them it’s about time that adults do to!
A term that we hear and read day-in and day-out is “Party in Power.” Does this mean that when discussing political parties that form our government, politics, first and foremost, is all about power? Read on and listen to more of what this retiring politician had to say.
As the politician continued his description of politics that he himself had spent almost his entire working career in, he made the following statements:
“Dictatorships and totalitarian regimes hang onto power by fear and when that does not work, they resort to force. Monarchies hold onto power by birthright. Democratically elected people hold onto power by telling the public whatever the public wants to hear. What they say does not have to be true, just believable.
In a democracy, when a person joins a political party and lets the officials know that he or she would like to be the party’s representative in the area in which they live, the officials determine if the prospective candidate has the charisma to win the next election. If they do, the party insiders indoctrinate that individual into the proper political mindset. The first lesson a potential politician learns is that they are responsible to the party, not the electorate. Their responsibility is to get elected and once elected to ensure that they will be re-elected in every succeeding election. Their responsibility is not to represent the citizens of their area, but to support their party’s plans for that area. The party’s first priority for any area is to ensure that their financial supporters are rewarded in some significant way. They then rate the area in how important it is in keeping them in power. The more important it is, the more benefits the area receives.
For every politician, there are dozens of party advisors, personal advisors, speech writers, aids and other hangers-on. As much as possible, all these “extras” keep the politician toeing the party line and in the limelight. Whenever a promised “goody” for the area does not materialize, the party instructs the politician to blame it on the opposition party, the economy, or the price of oil (most of which is controlled by OPEC – always a favorite whipping boy). (Just as an aside, have you ever met a politician that was successful in having the price of oil lowered? You will not find one. That is because it is in their best interest and the best interest of their party to keep the price of oil as high as they possibly can. This gives the public a focal point for their anger and it allows the politician and the party to do things that are in their best interest that would normally rile the public if they were paying attention. However, if the public’s attention is focused on the price of oil, or the availability of gasoline, they are not paying attention to the sneaky things the politicians are doing in the background to increase their own and their party’s fortunes).
As the politician continued to open up he went on to point out that a large percentage of a politician’s friends, financial supporters and relatives were found in comfortable, well paying jobs in the government, on government commissions or other publicly funded groups. However, that is just a side benefit. The real reason for becoming a politician is to be part of the group that decides the fate of their nation. The exhilarating thrill of having the destiny of a nation and the future of it and possibly the future of the world in the palm of your hand is a rush like nothing else you will ever experience.”
As the writer of this article I share this information for perhaps there is a new generation. Perhaps there really are those running for office now that want to see change in the way our system operates. Even young people such as I found here at Kids Speak for America can offer change. Like Seth said in one of his messages I read at twitter, “Politicians need to listen to kids for we are the future voters and taxpayers.” You go get them buddy and I am pleased to submit this article to you.
~An Old Fart That Wants Change~
Thank you for this article and thank you for following me on twitter. It really is scary what you say about politicians and how they only seem to care about getting elected. Maybe some of them will have the guts to tell us how they are going to do to change things and then do it.
Seth