My relationship status for politics: It’s complicated

It’s always been complicated. I guess that’s what happens when you have worked in the very center of the political world at a young age and have seen how things actually work.

My relationship with politics has gone through a range of relationship statuses.

And I feel as though I’m entering a new phase, but I’m not sure what it is. Faith and politics have always been things that have meant a great deal to me. In my experience they offer something similar – identity, a vision of a possible future, meaning, and more. They have a depth and richness. Most of our history is based on faith and politics. It’s how we measure time after all. Our faith and politics offer immaterial things and connections in a very material world. So it should be no surprise that at their core, I have a positive view of faith and politics.

And yet…I have seen how faith and politics can be abused and can be destructive and deadly. But I don’t think faith and politics are destructive and deadly at their core. Those are the result of people who twist faith and politics into something that they are not – about power and selfishness.

Let me be clear, I live in the real world. So I see how faith and politics are used by some. But that’s the key – used. Used for ends that are destructive to the processes that are being used.

And so my relationship with politics is complicated. I have seen good people go into politics and then are changed. Because when you go into an unhealthy and abusive system, you don’t change it – it changes you. But it is not politics that is unhealthy. It is a system within politics that is unhealthy. This may sound like I’m threading a needle with semantics. But it isn’t. Politics, at its core is about a group of people coming together to make decisions that benefit the society/community. That is in conflict with how politics can be used and abused to benefit an individual, a group of people, a political party, etc. When that happens, those who abuse politics aren’t doing politics at all. They are doing something else – grabbing at power through force. That system has been used to abuse many other systems like politics. It’s been used to destructive ends in faith and religion. It’s been used in business. It’s been used in sports. It’s been used in education. It’s like a parasite that latches onto a host and eats away at it until it kills the host. In this case, the parasite is seeking power. The host is politics.

And so I have a range of emotions right now when it comes to politics. But really my emotions aren’t pointed at politics at all. It’s pointed at the parasitic – the power grabbing that is using politics for its goal. Politics is just a host body.

And I don’t like it. Because it is killing something that is beautiful. It is killing something that offerings something important to society. It is killing something that is designed to benefit many people. It is killing something that has the power to engaged people and find commonality.

And I’m really not happy with this parasite for binding so many people in bondage, in hatred, in stubbornness, false identity, immaturity, ignorance, selfishness, narcissism, and lack of respect for others and themselves.

This seeking of power is a deadly sin that consumes those caught in its grip. The hunger for power can never be satisfied. There is never enough for the one caught in its grip.

And I refuse to play by the rules of the parasite. It always ends the same way – death. I’m not interested in that. So I won’t play by the commonly understood rules that are used to abuse politics.

And I think I’m in good company too. I’m not alone. And neither are you. Those who abuse politics will pay a price for that. That’s not me being vengeful. That’s more stating a fact of what happens – the logical conclusion. It never goes well for those who are power hungry. They are never satisfied. And there’s always someone hungrier than you. The only way to change it is to stop feeding on things that leave you empty. To start relearning what it is that satisfies. And to not be alone.