What makes the idea of touching on politics is that as an anonymous blogger with readers from 150 countries - none of you know where I live (except for my summer home in Bhutan - haha).
So heres the scoop - I spend the majority of my time in a progressive western democracy. That does not mean however that I don't respect the lives and the decisions made by People (especially the readers of this blog) that don't. My very own background (ancestry) is complex and I am one generation away from family members who were born in places that are not Western democracies and who I count as huge supporters of this blog.
So the thing that has been on my mind and I want to blog about is this idea that as I've become older Ive become less politically inclined. In the last few elections I have even declined to vote.
It is tempting (and I have asked myself the question many times) to put it down to apathy but having mulled it over I think its a little more complex.
The main reason I feel 'A' political is that I am actually sick of partisan politics. Basically this means that just because I generally lean towards one side of the political spectrum that somehow I need to agree with just about everything they do - or face being a traitor. Actually let me rephrase that - I am annoyed that elected politicians need to always agree with everything that the party stands for. To me this is anti intellectual and fails to take into account that not all decisions are black and white. Ultimately I think this partisan idea Leeds to bad decisions (or no decisions which is just as bad).
You can probably tell by now that I am also not a fan of extreme views (dogmatic politics) and I am firmly in the middle of the political spectrum. In western democracies that basically means that I am a swinging voter - sometimes left sometimes right - but always in the middle.
Isn't this the basis of a good system anyway? One that is not static and one that allows for change. We seem to value people who think in absolutes and admire them for sticking to their convictions and we judge people as fickle who somehow see things in shades. Is this a dis service?
I reckon any good political system allows for swings and change because I reckon a root of evil is anyone (any organisation) being in POWER for too long. As human we can't deal with power. Holy cow we can't even handle it when our neighbour gets a nice car or when our football team loses to a country that we like to lord over.
Political parties and all doctrines have one thing in common - they are made up with people and people are flawed.
Let it swing and enjoy the ups and downs.
Remember that Buddhist proverb about 'bending' is wise and rigidity will break you....
Or how about the christian proverb that talks about 'there is a time for everything under the sun'...
Ive decided currently not to vote - which is a political decision - but am I'm watching with interest - and you never know I may even change my mind come Election Day (and I'm ok with that!)
Cheers
VS
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