I Am Not A Politician I am not a politician. Politics is a power struggle, and war through other means. Most adults are political animals. Many have a narrow view about what constitutes politics. They just equate it with political parties and government. Yet politics permeates all aspects of human life. Twelve most common forms of politics explained - in order of priority.
It's extremely difficult to live without politics. Politicians are adept at compromise, but I do not compromise with basic fundamental principles. Therefore I am not a politician.
1. Family Politics This is the most common form of politics. It is everywhere. We all belong to a family at some time in our lives. We all have a Father and Mother. The family is the basic building block of society. The political atmosphere in the family is the most damaging and widespread of all the negative family environments. This is where most people learn to play politics. I remember two little boys playing together at my job site one day. The one little boy threatened not to play with the other boy, if he did not give him what he wanted. Where did he learn that political trick ? Probably from his family. A true, but sad story. A grandmother nurtures her granddaughter. A young man becomes sexually interested in the girl. The man and his family conspire to steal the girl away from granny. Grandma is abandoned. Another true but even sadder tale. A father spoils his son. He doesn't discipline him properly when young, and just pampers him. The son grows up to be a spoiled brat. The son then tries to take control away from the Father in the family. A power struggle emerges in the family with other members taking sides in the dispute. There is a huge blow up and father and son become hopelessly alienated. A house divided cannot stand. Power struggles within families are so heart wrenching, and so damaging. Here are two people who used to love each other, and now they are at each other's throats. Power struggles can easily escalate into spousal abuse. It can even go so far as murder. We keep hearing of men who kill their whole families then turn the gun on themselves. There was a recent story in the news about a man who was breaking up with his wife. He had been granted shared custodial rights of his son. He picks the son up, drives out into the country - kills the boy and then commits suicide ! Usually most forms of family politics never go that far. However, the family environment is poisoned by the constant power struggles. Children are quite often used as pawns by the parents in the power struggles, and encouraged to take sides. In a lot of countries mother-in-laws have very much power and that can cause much trouble. This can get pretty nasty, and sometimes participants end up in jail or the morgue. Sex is used to manipulate and control others. The analogy of a john and a prostitute may help explain it a bit better. The john is buying and the prostitute is selling, and all they need to do is negotiate the price. How is that much different from a rich old man buying a beautiful young woman for a wife ? She may figure that in a few years he will croak anyways, and if he doesn't keel over fast enough she can always get a divorce and a goodly chunk of cash. Sexual politics in the workplace is often practiced by men in positions of authority. They may promote this young, shapely beauty to a high position, but she is using sex as a tool to advance herself up the corporate ladder. Maybe she can just get by with him feeling her up a bit, but some bosses demand sex. Sexual politics is destructive, because it turns participating men into johns and participating women into prostitutes. Sex is used as some sort of bargaining chip. Little girls pick up the tricks of the trade and begin to use affection as a means of manipulating men, and tricking them. 3. Community Politics This form of politics seems to be more common in rural settings, and where individuals and families have put down roots, and so can't just get up and leave when things heat up. The famous feud in the USA between the Hatfield's and McCoy's is an excellent example. The Black Donnelly's rampage in Upper Canada during the 1800's is another example. People were cowed and intimidated into silence, with threats of violence. Family feuds in such communities can go on for generations. In rural settings a ways back (before rural Alberta was depopulated, and real living breathing communities actually existed in farming areas) weddings were good times for the feuds to fire up into real serious brawls. Was a wedding ceremony coming to the old community hall ? The nasty little boys were in glee - boy oh boy another good fight coming soon to our community. A young man taking over the family farm quite often finds themselves inheriting more than just property. Very often they also inherit their Father's enemies within the community. It can take years of careful diplomacy for the new owner to be on good terms with alienated, backbiting neighbours. Sometimes it is virtually impossible, because of the depth of animosity. Backbiting neighbours are adept at spreading gossip and rumours in the community, against someone, or some family they might have a grudge against. 4. Church or Religion Based Politics Is there supposed to be politics in the church ? Didn't Christ command those in the Church to love each other (John 15:17) ? If you don't believe there is any back stabbing in the church then perhaps you should read about my experience by clicking here. Don't be naive. Churches and religions are full of power struggles. There is always someone, who wants to control you it seems. This can take very serious twists. Just think of the Inquisition. Men have been burned at the stake for not following the dictates of the entrenched religious establishment. If persons were labeled as a heretic, they were under political pressure to recant. If they didn't knuckle down they could be killed. In a lot of Muslim nations it is against the law to preach about Jesus in public. Religious warfare has broken out in Indonesia recently. 5. Ethnic or Racial Politics This is quite common in marriage mate selection. For example the girl may be under political pressure to only go with, or marry someone of the same race, or ethnicity. She will feel the political heat, and may just cave in to the pressure, even though she might like someone else more. It is similar with young men, but probably the men are a little more free from this form of politics than girls. I recall a story told me by an aboriginal friend of mine. Her mother liked very much a young man on the reserve, but her parents were opposed to the relationship, because he was a metis (half native and half French). This can get very serious. Young woman have been killed for not marrying the politically correct mate. This is especially so in lands where women traditionally have few rights. During the Bolshevik revolution a good number of German minorities in the Ukraine were exiled to Siberia. This was pure ethnic politics. During the second world war Japanese Canadians were interned, because of ethnic politics. This can get very, very serious and the ethnic politics can easily turn into deadly warfare, if circumstances take some bizarre twist. The ethnic motivated slaughter of up to 800,000 souls in Rwanda was horrible beyond belief, and is an excellent example of how ethnic and tribal rivalries and hatreds can turn into collective madness. 6. Gender Politics Some women it seems only want to be equal with men when it is to their advantage. When equality means sharing the hard and dirty jobs then quite a few women will then mention that they are women after all, and that sort of work is a man's job. Like asking for a date, for example. Many women expect the man to do the asking. In this way they don't have to take the initiative, and don't have to feel the embarrassment of being rejected. It can also work the other way with men. A lot of men never change diapers, because they may use the excuse that it is women's work, when really they just want to avoid the stink. The same thing with avoiding cooking or washing the dishes -it's women's work goes the excuse. 7. Politics on the Job (office politics) You know the old saying, " It's not what you know, but who you know." Our work places for the most part are political hotbeds of infighting, patronage, nepotism, backstabbing, intrigue and corruption. I shall look at this situation from the viewpoint of my own particular province, which is Alberta, Canada. Have lived and worked in both Edmonton, Calgary and North Central Alberta. You won't find many brave enough here in Alberta to go public about the political environment they face on the job. Why ? Because they fear the negative political ramifications of speaking out publicly. Employers can black list them. They may loss their jobs, or perhaps be demoted, or given some dirty work by their bosses. Most people are too afraid and intimidated to speak up against corruption on the job. Another point is that the high level of immigration, and high numbers of immigrant workers is also conducive to corruption being covered up. Most immigrants are easier to control and intimidate than ordinary Canadian born workers. They are more vulnerable, less aware of their rights, and easier to cheat and dominate. Back in the early 1970's there was a shortage of workers, especially in places like Alberta. So employers had to treat workers better. Working people were in a stronger position, because they were in demand. So employers had to pay them better. The workers were getting a larger slice of the corporate pie. Well the business and political establishment, did not like sharing so much power, and wealth with the workers. So a plot was hatched, which was to greatly increase the level of immigration (even in times of high unemployment). This plot was designed to make workers more hungry, and force them to compete with each other for jobs. This dampened wage expectations, and make it easier for employers to control workers. Basically designed to keep them down, and reduce labour costs. It is common knowledge that the average working wage in Canada during the past 15 years or so has not kept pace with the increase in the cost of living. Real wages for average working people has gone down in that period. Politics on the job runs rampant throughout the country. Then we often hear people complain about the politicians, and how they don't want to have anything to do with politics. Yet they are deeply involved in playing all kinds of political games at work. Politics on the job is very damaging, and it leads to all kinds of inefficiencies. The economy is not as efficient and productive as a result, because the best people are not being kept and hired in far too any situations. Additionally the working environment becomes poisoned, and this results in low worker moral, higher turnover of staff, and more inefficiencies. 8. Class Based Politics There are the classic class based political struggles, like between management and the working class, between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie, between the landlord class and the peasants, between the upper class and the lower class, between the elite and the hoi polloi, between the wealthy and the masses. To bring this class struggle closer to home it is easy to see it in rural Canada. Perhaps you live in a rural area, or in a small town. Maybe you know someone, who does. Most rural areas are serviced by, or dominated by one larger town. This town too often begins to feel it is above the surrounding smaller communities, and more important than the little villages, hamlets and farms within its sphere of influence. They easily become snotty, and want to puff themselves up over the surrounding communities. They may view themselves as the hub, and others just as spokes. It is not fun being labeled as a spoke. Actually you don't really believe you are just a mere spoke, but those who think they are the hub, just want you to BELIEVE you are a mere spoke. Interesting rivalries can develop in these circumstances. Sometimes the so-called little spoke gets their revenge, and kicks dirt in the face of those who think they are the hub. But when this happens the snotty little town will play their political shenanigans to discredit, or trivialize the victory by the little spoke. Anyone who has ever lived in a little town, or on a farm knows how snoopy people can be. People must play their political games - eh ?
9. Anti-Christian Politics I rarely experience it, because I don't flaunt my Christianity. Oh for sure I bring it up a lot on my web site, but you don't have to tune in if you don't like it - right ? When dealing with others at work, and in the community I almost never talk religion. I recall a Talk Show host, who used to call born again Christians the scum of the earth right over the air. Apparently someone finally complained, and he was forced to stop this hate propaganda. He probably still holds those same views, but now he just doesn't go public with it. A very large government corporation in Canada routinely flaunts it's anti-Christian bitter poison. Stockwell Day one of the leaders of a political party was at the sharp end of their anti-Christian bias during the federal election campaign a few years back. I bet you know who we are talking about - yes the CBC. 10. Gang Politics People often think of the Hells Angels, or perhaps the Mafia and Rock Machine, but there are all kinds of gangs. They need not be organized criminal gangs. It can be as simple as a little gang of boys, who are just having some fun. The conspiracy of silence is quite powerful with gangs. There seems to be this code of silence. It is very powerful and may be just the result of the strong solidarity among the gang members or it may be designed to protect gang members from retaliation by other members, if one of them happens to squeal to the police, of maybe the teacher. This very often hampers the police, because nobody will come forward with evidence. So therefore a lot of crimes remain unsolved, even very serious matters like murder. It can also hamper the teacher from finding the culprits, and so everyone ends up getting punished. 11. Union Politics Used to work for a company in Edmonton years back. It was a union shop. There was a strike at a different company in the city that had the same union represented both of us. We had a big meeting in our cafeteria. Union reps decided it was a good idea for us workers (who were not on strike) to help the striking workers. So they asked us to have a portion of our wages taken off our cheques to help the striking workers, until there was a settlement of the dispute. We were supposed to vote on the matter, by a show of hands. The big union boss asked for a vote of approval, or disapproval. I was standing right there. There was no attempt to count the show of hands. " All in favor ? " he says. " All opposed ? " he asks. Then the big union boss just said " Passed. " A growl of protest went through the workers. They realized the fix was in from the start. No one counted the hands. I saw more hands against the idea then for it. I talked to our own union leader later, and said that no one counted the hands, and that I saw more hands against then in favor. He said nothing, but had a pained expression on his face.
12. Politics Within Governments (this includes your traditional political parties) This is the form of politics most people think of when the word politics is mentioned. Yet it isn't really very common in comparison to the other eleven listed. Most people do not belong to political parties. In fact in the USA most people of voting age don't even bother to cast a ballot in elections. In Canada the percentage of voter turnout is traditionally higher than that of the USA, but it is still rather low. In municipal elections especially there is usually only a minority who bother to vote. Politics really heats up during election campaigns. In Canada one of the favorite strategies of political parties is to play the old divide and conquer routine. Turn one region against the other. Pierre Trudeau did that back in the 1980's. He turned Ontario voters against Joe Clark and the Conservatives, by implying that those greedy Albertans were going to raise the price of gasoline 18 cents a gallon. Joe Clark was from Alberta, so Ontario voters swallowed the old divide and conquer strategy hook, line and sinker. Nothing like good old Alberta bashing to help win votes in Ontario. Fed bashing is also used quite a bit by Alberta politicians to win votes here. Preston Manning used it to help propel the Reform Party to official opposition in the Commons. Provincial politicians here in Alberta, will do a bit of fed bashing to gain support. It seems to work like a charm.
My Strategy For Avoiding Politics In this section I will explain in detail how I try hard to avoid politics in all twelve forms of politics. This will help you understand where I am coming from on various issues, and will give you a very good indication as to how I would handle myself, in a position of authority in the government. My belief system, standards and whole focus in life is centered around God the Father, and God the Son, as explained in the Bible. Matthew 22:35 - 40 " Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked Him a question, tempting Him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. " Luke 10:25-28 " And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. " Luke 14:25-27 (from the Living Bible) " Great crowds were following him. He turned around and addressed them as follows: Anyone who wants to be my follower must love me far more than he does his own father, mother, wife , children, brothers, or sisters - yes more than his own life - otherwise he cannot be my disciple. And no one can be my disciple who does not carry his own cross and follow me. " Deuteronomy 6:4-5 " Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. " God has given us His inspired, written word - the Bible. So the Bible is my authority in regards to standards of what is right and wrong, and as to questions of how to deal with this world and my fellowman. So for me God sets the standards, and my responsibility is to try and meet these standards (but I am not perfect). So for me I don't need politics, because God sets the rules and that's it. I just have faith that God will help me through. I feel there is no need to play politics, because God will enable me to survive simply by following His ways. I also feel a lot of politics is very wrong and dishonest. Of course there can be different interpretations of various scriptures, especially some of the laws and biblical doctrines, which are not clearly black and white, but more gray. My interpretation on the gray areas may differ from yours naturally. Christ will judge this matter, and decide who is right or wrong regarding their particular interpretation of scripture. My responsibility is to be as honest as possible in this area, and be true to my convictions. God will forgive me for making honest mistakes, and He is no weakling - He can show us where we are going wrong, if we just listen. How I Avoid Politics
1. Family Politics and how I avoid them. Ephesians 5:22-25 " Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; " Ephesians 6:1-3 " Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. " (1 Peter 3:1-8) New Testament laws regulating the family are:
The husband and father has no right to abuse their authority. There is a big difference between leadership ,and domination. Dominating the family is wrong. Husbands are supposed to serve the family, and other family members are supposed to respect the God given authority of the husband and father. Politics is thus avoided - the key is to have the family centered around God and His ways.
2. Sexual Politics and how to avoid it. Genesis 2:18 " And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. " Genesis 2:24 " Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. " Matthew 19:4-6 " And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. " It is really very simple. The husband and wife are joined together by God in bed through sexual intercourse. So enjoy sex with your mate. Use your imagination. Where does God command us to be prudes? In that situation sex is good, and should be enjoyed to the full. This will cement your relationship with your mate. This is a physical relationship. Do not try to spiritualize it. It is physical. It involves sexual stimulation and pleasure. It also involves the man sexually dominating the woman, but that kind of domination is okay in that situation. Natural affection expressed through touching others, and through sex with your mate is .........natural. What is to be avoided is the unnatural affection, of using sex, affection and touching as a political tool to manipulate and control others. If this is done then you can end up with sexual politics. It is a question as to having the proper attitude towards touching. The proper touching is a way to express natural affection. Some people are bigger huggers than others. In some cultures men kiss each other when they meet. There are a lot of cultural factors involved here.
3. Community Politics and how I try to avoid it. The basic principle here is to love your neighbour. No I don't mean sleeping with your neighbour's wife, or husband. Matthew 22:39 " And the second (the second greatest commandment) is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. " How do you show your love towards your neighbour ? 1 John 5:2-3 " By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. " Very simply you show your love towards God and your neighbour by keeping God's commandments. If you love others you won't steal from them, you won't cheat them, or lie about them, or covet their property or job, of sleep with their wife, slander them and so on. Romans 13: 8-10 " Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. " Sometimes the best neighbours are those who mind their own business. That is something I try to do.
4. Church or Religion Based Politics - how to avoid it. It is quite simple. Don't try to push your religion on others (but that doesn't mean you can't teach your children). People have God given free moral agency. Even God won't force mankind to love and obey Him (there are however, serious consequences to rebellion). That doesn't mean you can't promote your religion. Toleration of other people's religion, and beliefs is important. That doesn't mean we should put down, or diminish our Christian heritage just to please a small ethnic minority.
5. Ethnic or Racial Politics - how to avoid it. The simple Biblical principle here is that God loves all mankind, and is the Creator of all the various races and ethnic groups. Acts 10:34-35 " Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him. " Every race and ethnic group has its own strengths and weaknesses. None is superior to the other, since we are all God's children, and we are all sinners. It is up to God to determine whether one particular people is sinning too much, and needs punishment. Sin is a disgrace for any people - no matter where, or who they are. And it is important we be fair and honest here. If a certain race, or ethnic group is deeply involved in evil then they should be censored for it. Look at the situation in black Africa with the aids epidemic. How is this disease primarily spread ? Through sexual promiscuity ! Well then why don't more black men smarten up, and stop being sexually promiscuous ? If a certain people are involved in doing good then they should be congratulated and applauded. Let us not play racial and ethnic politics.
6. Gender Politics - how to avoid it. The basic principle is that we are all made in the image of God - male and female. Galatians 3:27-29 " For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. " One gender isn't any better than the other - we are just different because of sex. Learn to enjoy the difference.
7. Politics on the Job (office politics) One of the keys here is to not covet your bosses job, and to respect their authority. Exodus 20:17 " Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's. " Romans 13:1-3 " Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: " There is a difference between legitimate authority and illegitimate authority. Your boss at work has legitimate authority to organize the work you do, and control the workers under their authority in order to get the job done. However, they do not have authority to order you to do something illegal, or to abuse you on the job. The police have legitimate authority to enforce the law, but they have no right to abuse their authority. If a policeman asks you for a bribe - they are exercising illegitimate authority, and you are under no obligation to do what they say. Teachers have legitimate authority to teach the children in their class, and discipline those who are rebellious. However, they do not have any legitimate authority to abuse the children, of to take advantage of them sexually. Your boss at work has legitimate authority to direct the workers, and organize the work. Workers need to respect that legitimate authority. However, the boss has no legitimate authority to try and establish a domination-submissive relationship over workers, and they have no legitimate right to bully you, or abuse you, or to tell you how to think, or to control who you are to socialize with, and so on. Legitimate authority needs to be respected. However, if there is a clash between man's laws and God's laws then we are to follow God rather than man. 8. Class Based Politics - how to avoid it. The basic principle here is to simply follow justice. To be fair and honest. Don't discriminate against a person, just because they happen to be rich, or poor. Don't treat one class different from the other before the law. If one class of people is taking advantage of and discriminating against another class then this is wrong, and it needs to be condemned. Oppression and repression needs to be condemned - no matter who is doing it. Let us be honest and fair. Taking sides just because of the class of the individual is wrong. We need to judge matters fairly.
9. Anti-Christian Politics - how to avoid it. What needs to be done is to condemn it when it appears in public. Don't let the scoundrels get away with their spreading of hatred, without being fingered. However, we have to accept the reality that true Christians will suffer persecution. So what I try to do is just ignore the persecutions. Just have faith in God that he will either deliver you from the persecutions, or perhaps punish your persecutors. I am not a perfect Christian, and have not learned to turn the other cheek very well yet. There is no perfect Christian, and I don't pretend to be one.
10. Gang Politics - how to avoid it. The point is to cooperate with the authorities. Cooperate with the police. However, we are living in such a corrupt world that quite often the authorities are corrupt. We need to be as wise as serpents, but as harmless as doves. It is a rotten corrupt world, and very difficult to be a Christian these days.
11. Union Politics - how I avoid it. The point is to follow after truth, honesty and fairness. So many people here in Alberta are against unions, and have a prejudice against them. What I do is basically explain to people what the essence of the union is. The whole purpose of the union, and the essence of them - is that unions protect workers from being fired for illegitimate reasons. The big boss can't get rid of you just because they don't like your face, religion, ethnic background, or race - as long as you perform your job to accepted standards and are not insubordinate. Let us be fair and honest. Unionized shops are often more productive than non-union shops. On the other hand if unions are not run properly they can drive employers into bankruptcy, which is counter productive. The Biblical principle to follow is an honest days work, for an honest days pay - irregardless whether you belong to a union or not.
12. Politics Within Governments (this includes your traditional political parties) This is a very difficult subject. The basic doctrine is that Christians are supposed to respect the authorities, and their authority. Respect the law as long as the law doesn't require you to disobey God's laws. If there is a clash between man's laws and God's laws then God's laws take precedent. If the law is an ass - should we respect it ? A judgment call ?
IMailing Address: Ray Wegner P.O. Box 475 Stn. Main Calgary, Alberta T2P-2J1 Telephone (403) 274-5253
E-mail Guarantee of Rights and Freedoms and Fundamental Freedoms (from the Canadian Constitution) " The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society. Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms: (a) freedom of conscience and religion; (b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication; (c) freedom of peaceful assembly; and (d) freedom of association. "
" My choice early in life was either to be a piano player in a
whorehouse or a politician. And to tell the truth, there's hardly any
difference. "
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