Introduction

Growing up I relied on the book for the meaning of politics, according to google it is, “the activities associated with the governance of a country or area, especially a debate between parties having power”

But why does no one use this word or rather the ‘phase’ politics as such? Usually when this word is used it is in a symbolic context, that is, when someone practices their dominance in a twisted and negative manner or when someone blindly clings to an idea or thought and sometimes it is even used when people change sides mid-fight. We have all seen it being used in such instances but not more than it being used when the possibility of justice being served is close to none. The words ‘power and leaders’ have also been prominently linked with politics.

Was it always like this? Are all politics about power and dominance? Is leadership necessary? Is it just a game of gain and loss? Who is to blame for the repercussions? When did elections come to be and how?

To answer these questions, one must dive deep into the past.

Pre-historic era

First came families and need for agriculture which put all human beings under the same umbrella, need for food and how to attain food. Our ancestors began forming communities or tribes which not only helped in developing social skills but also political skills. We are social animals and the need for a stable environment is ever present.

Different tribes wanted the same thing- food or to put it simply, an easier way to live in harmony with the people present in one community (keep in mind that this is still the motive of the government now). The ways of attaining peace and harmony varies, why?

There are many factors which contribute to this but the most important one is the role of a leader. Humans are known to be followers of beliefs and ideas. Whether it be science, religion, society or philosophy. It is these unified thoughts and ideas which we acted upon and reached this modern advance age. It is a leader or a ruler who puts these persons under one unified umbrella, we all need a person who will listen to our problems, provide security and importance for our views and then finally act on them in our favour, however, a leader seeks for one problem which everyone faces and according to the problem acts on their understanding of off it. Different tribes of the prehistoric era had different- leaders, values, ways of living, interpretation, people and ideas which often caused clashes with other tribes. Where one tribe thrives off of their honesty the other might gamble on the concept of a white lie and steal someone’s agricultural produce resulting in conflicts and wars.

The leader or the chief of the tribe was elected by the people and according to the culture of the tribe. And thus, began unity, diversity and societies.

Power and its influences on people

Mankind has always showed the need for autonomy or independence whether it be anyone. This urge to prove our achievements through a title, constant need to prove oneself, to spread our influences on other people. Why does it affect people in a negative manner? As we attain power our thoughts and values become rigid, as it should be, you have to be clear and stick to your views while attaining power to establish some change but not biased. Ego comes hand-in-hand with intelligence, when we mix arrogance with wit our opinions harden. When we don’t counter our opinion, we begin see lesser and lesser, our perspective shortens. The greed for power in various ways also affects us badly because opportunities start presenting themselves, some good and some bad. It is how we react to those opportunities and new-found

After societies were made, importance of people was judged on the basis of their contribution to the society, economy, etc. then the emergence of monarchies took place. The hereditary nature of this political system is quite concerning in the views of the modern world. It wasn’t just monarchies but also emperors.

How can the possibility of one person’s thought can be accepted by the people? There were obviously no alternative political systems at that time and higher authority ruled over the land and economy rather than the people. It wasn’t always as such though, we can take up the example of Julius Caesar, the people admired him and elected him to be their emperor, although there were people against him such as his own friend Brutus who favoured democracy and strove for validation. He had his own reasons but looking at the history of Rome afterwards, we should always understand that politics and election depends upon the community which is being governed, its chameleon-like nature makes it impossible to just favour one system, we seek a system appropriate for all but with many differences within the political system such as democracy.

Analysing the two political eras and situations we can clearly see the difference- its focus and power has shifted, in the beginning they needed the people to survive, political systems clearly do but in monarchies the governance slowly over the time period shifted away from the people. But soon this was proven wrong in the 1789, when the French revolution took place. People were heard, and started viewing themselves as a nation and nature set its course. As Charles Dickens mentioned in his famous book ‘A Tale of Two Cities’, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to

Heaven, we were all going direct the other way..."

Pipe Dream

Study shows that power invites arrogance. Does that mean we should give up on the idea of justice or having good leader?

Whenever any political issue is bought up the most common phase you hear is that, “nothing can be done”. What makes us lose hope?

As a child filled with bright yellow dreams and as observant as a hawk, I observed, that slowly that hope, dreams and ambitions slow down, they are put to halt when you’re old. You don’t get amazed or excited about the things which were the subject of your amusement before. You look back on your life and relive all your happiness, regrets, basically all your highs and lows. One thing that aggravates us or rekindles the spark of youth within us is politics. I have two senior citizens in my house and the only thing they get excited or show high emotion for is politics and it is not just them. It is all of us. Young or old whatever the politic problem is, it affects us all even though it might not be related to us personally. But it is, it is within our souls, the hope for a better future because if it wasn’t then we wouldn’t be criticising and discussing about it! The feeling of nurturing our nation still lives just as it did in 1947 and our sentiments haven’t changed. The reason for our bickering is not because we have lost hope it is because we haven’t. It is the people who give power to the government, who build a nation and the reason for its prosperity. The connection between the nation and its people is two-fold and politics a catalyst.

.     .     .