Politics
Where to begin with an
article about politics? Politics can be
defined as:
- Social relations
involving authority or power,
- The study of
government of states and other political units,
- The profession devoted
to governing and to political affairs,
- The science and
methods of government. Derived from the Greek word "Polis" which
means community.
- Competition for power
and leadership between competing interests or groups. May be characterized
by artful and sometimes dishonest practices.
But
of course, it is more complicated than any of these definitions. It wouldn't be a far stretch to say that
politics is simply human life or rather, the conduct of human life. Children, when asked about politics will
often say that it's a building with men in suits who argue about the country… As children we may see it as an institution,
a group of people within the institution but as we grow up we start to
understand that the concept is an abstract one, a similar to the one of "law"
or "arts"; it is many things all at once.
Politics
is a main topic of news, the government is, of course, a body that rules a
given country, grouping different political parties within it that represent
certain views such as republican, conservative or democratic. Naturally, media
is always fascinated with politics as both institutions rely and exist because
of the society's need for information and for governing legislatures.
People
are passionate about politics and as we all saw in the recent U.S. elections,
this passion is a fiery one, literally, a matter of life or death for some
(such as U.S. and Iraqi soldiers). The
recent turn out at the U.S. voting tables was a surprise to everyone – the estimated
percentage of votes in the elections was just under 60 percent of eligible voters, this was the highest
percentage turnout since 1968.
Prior to the
votes we all witnessed the intense elections campaign with some of the most
unusual suspects – celebrities -- urging America to make a presidential choice. The hip-hop artists got political, the movie
makers got political, it seemed the whole nation was obsessed and it was really
refreshing to see such interest and passion despite the results of the
election.
There's little
point to this article, other than showing how politics really affects all of us
and it should never be ignored, it is important to be educated, aware and not
apathetic. Our political concern should
be the gist of life.
hide
Home
