I used to be quite heavily immersed in politics but recently I have taken a step back. I wish I had done it sooner really. Now I don't want you to get me wrong because politics matters, sadly for not enough people. We all have a duty to know what is going on in the world and what our political leaders are up to. There is no escaping the fact that politics and politicians have a direct effect on the daily lives of the masses, therefore you and me.
The problem is that if you have a desire to want to know what is going on in your own country and the wider world and you have a thirst for the truth, you soon realise the noble quest for the truth is fraught with obstacles, corruption, danger and outright ugliness. It is an extremely difficult task if you are someone who wants to know the truth.
In many ways I wish I hadn't wanted to know. I wish I could have been a part of the ignorant masses. I would have been a lot happier for sure. But I was silly and wanted to know the truth.
So in that endeavour you align yourself somewhere on the political spectrum. But as I have discovered, like so many others, that spectrum can be a mirage. It constitutes only one small part of the whole picture of society and in many ways distorts what's really going on. It can simply be a smokescreen.
I have tried working with both of the major political parties here in Britain, I was involved with left-wing politics in the form of the Labour Party for a decade and latterly I have been focusing on the right of the political spectrum with the Conservative Party. What I can say with 100% confidence having seen both sides up close and personal is that 90% of these Labour and Conservative politicians are there to enrich themselves in any way they can. They are in politics for private gain only. You do come across the odd genuine politician, it always serves as a ray of hope I suppose, but those people are very few and far between.
So anyway having taken this step back from the complete shitshow that is politics I still found myself watching the US election debate the other night with the two candidates taking part in a head to head. I watched it because politics still matters, and even though I am not American, as we know what happens in America affects the wider world.
(Non-establishment politician Trump versus classic establishment politician Harris.)
I am always interested in political outsiders. I rarely have time for establishment politicians for the reasons I have mentioned above. So I have absolutely no desire to see Kamala Harris become the next US president. The choice is not great, the political choice for virtually all of us in the Western world is very limited. So if I was an American citizen I would have to vote for Trump, but let me explain.
Do not think I am a natural born conservative, I am not. I am also no flag waiver for Donald Trump. But because of the very limited choice and out of the two candidates on offer Trump is the candidate who speaks to me most. Trump is not just the outsider, he is the outlier. I can say the same for the once staunchly Democrat former candidate Robert F Kennedy Junior who was standing as an independent candidate in the US presidential election but has now bowed out of the race.
(Another political outlier this time from the left of the spectrum in Robert F Kennedy.)
This is where things get very interesting for my argument. Up until quite recently Robert F Kennedy Junior had been a passionate member of the Democrat Party, a left of centre political party, but then last year abandoned the Democrats in favour of an independent position. He was still then seen as a left of centre candidate. This year while still ferociously independent with his views and political positioning he has decided to endorse Donald Trump for the presidency. I mean talk about a political journey!
I bet Robert F Kennedy's values haven't changed, mine haven't changed. But what has changed is the political landscape. And so now us once liberals are horrified at the modern day liberalism that is far more divisive and illiberal than liberal. A liberalism that seems far more interested in pursuing a global order than making life better for the peoples of individual countries.
I think virtually all of us right minded people want peace in this world, we want harmony in our communities and we all want a decent standard of living. It seems however that political parties and politicians don't want us to unite around those core desires. I dare say without political parties we would organically come together more. Perhaps that's the way forward!
Whatever your views and whatever your own personal politics are, you do have a responsibility to be informed and know the truth. Don't rely on the mainstream media to provide you with the truth. You have a responsibility to make your own political and societal contribution, to make our society a better place. Don't think it can be left to others to do, because if they think you won't do anything they'll get away with lots of things.
Peace!
