On Politics Versus Government

The recent midterm elections provide a fascinating insight into the inner workings of American politics. In these elections, there was a profound conservative shift in the spectrum. Formerly Democratic regions, such as Massachusetts and northern Illinois, voted Republican instead. Also, people expressed their dissatisfaction with Democratic president Barack Obama, where two years ago he was supported almost unanimously. This radical change in behavior from 2008 to today highlights a major conflict in leadership: that of politics versus government.

Politics and government are nowadays practically synonymous. However, there is a subtle, yet profound difference between the two.

Government is the creation and execution of law for a body of people.

Politics is the act of pandering, through donation or lawmaking, to one or more distinct bodies of people in order to gain votes.

Politics has a tendency nowadays to interfere with the due process of government. How many acts of legislation have you seen go into the bottomless pit of bureaucracy simply because some politicians decided to oppose it for the sake of party loyalty? How many compromises have had to be made in order to satisfy every individual group of people that could possibly exist?

Too many, right?

However, politics does not come without precedence. We see this same sort of behavior even as far back as the Roman Republic, where certain candidates for office (populares) would appeal directly to the public in order to gain support. In more recent history, we have dramatic examples from the years after the American Revolution. There were the extensive debates and compromises that went into the creation of the Constitution in order to satisfy both the Northern states and the Southern. These represent only a tiny fraction of the history of politics.

Now, is politics necessarily a bad thing? Not at all! Sometimes compromises must be made in order to preserve law and order, and politics ensures that all voices are heard. However, when politics becomes more of a hindrance to the process of law than an aid, then it is a bad thing.

Likewise, government is not always a good thing. Men are imperfect, so there must be some way of ensuring peace and order in a state. This comes from government. However, absolute government can all too easily become totalitarian, which is decidedly awful.

Question is, how does one distinguish between good politics and bad? The answer is common sense. Plain and simple. People must exercise good judgement when they go to the polls, and not just blindly vote for someone because of party ties. We must put in the effort to extensively research the platforms of candidates, weigh all possible options fairly, and decide for ourselves who the best candidate is. Otherwise, government simply cannot function effectively.

Now, I am not calling for violent revolution by any means. I am simply asking that you stop to think about who you are voting for before you punch that ballot. The future of America is at stake.