Politics are just another tool
People say things like, “this isn’t about your politics.” This idea of politics as something that can be possessed is predicated on a false premise. What you are really saying is, “I don’t care about the policies that impact me, and other residents of this community.”
You see, I cannot possess politics like I possess the brush I use to clean my teeth. Politics are not mine to have. Politics is the practice of policy that shapes the culture in which we live. They enable—and disable—our ability to pursue happiness. Politics are objective, measurable, and shared by us all. Politics are just another tool.
When others reduce political discourse to, “your feelings or opinions,” it is a form of passive censorship. It’s dulls the blade of the tool of politics. Ultimately, the policy begins to govern without transparency, and any discussion of policy is dismissed as, “your politics.”
An improved understanding of how a tool works mitigates the risk of it being turned into a weapon against us. Let’s learn how to use the tool of policy for good, productive purposes. Let’s work to feed, clothe, house, and care for each other in solidarity and with a shared understanding of the politics that govern us.