Just To Clarify

Apparently, I'm 'very political'..

That's a very strange thing to me. Obviously it is a strong perception that people have of me, that I am political, even too political. It's strange, because honestly, I absolutely loathe and detest politics, politicians and political parties. I have zero interest in getting mixed up in all that shit, ever.

Folks, I hate to burst your bubble (not) but I am apolitical.  In the Oxford English dictionary, political is defined as 'relating to the government or public affairs of a country'. Sure, often I am concerned with the evils perpetrated by governments, and yes sometimes my views are UK-centric, but my concerns are global and my focus is on the whole of humanity. Any link with established political views, party or otherwise, is just pure coincidence. I actively fight against the inbuilt bias that arises from my geographic and societal boundaries. The internal party politics of any one particular country is so far from my area of interest it's almost invisible to me.

Our esteemed Oxford dictionary defines apolitical as 'not interested or involved in politics'. That's me. Just because I post meme's and react to news items on social media, and sign the odd petition, doesn't mean I'm interested in a career in parliament. It's just not on my radar. I'm encouraged by the fact that for every one person who doesn't like my posts, I've had compliments from four or five. It's not necessary, but it sure raises the spirit.

One of the most common reasons why people label you 'political' is so that they can dismiss anything you say that they don't agree with, find uncomfortable or challenging, or otherwise don't want to acknowledge. When something rattles me, I feel compelled to express my views (sorry, not sorry). These views develop in response to an ongoing and ever-expanding awareness of the bigger picture, the issues that I believe to be fundamental ills and wrongs in the world. It is merely a part of the picture that the responsibility for these wrongs nearly always lies with politicians, their paymasters in big business and their co-conspirators in mainstream media. I am constantly engaged in a process (again, always developing) of identifying sources, fact-checking, cross-referencing, analysing, evaluating and finally sharing and/or debating these matters. I don't just shoot from the hip. I discard far, far more ideas than I share, because they do not hold up to scrutiny.

What concerns me greatly, even scares me, is the masses of people who turn off and just shut down, the moment anything they are hearing or seeing can be construed as (too) political in some way. Elections are won by morons with evil ideas because people are so apathetic they can't even be bothered to vote, and the most common reasons people give are, "well I just don't understand it all", or simply, "I don't do politics". Oh the irony. We all have a vested interest in learning at least the basic mechanisms with which politicians and political parties influence and govern people. Everything you hold dear in life and the future of you and your family depends on what these self-serving single-minded lying scumbags do. It's all about awareness.

Time and time again I find myself being doubted, questioned, derided and even excluded for my opinions. In the past it has pained me, I still have occasional moments when it bothers me, but those moments are getting fewer and further between. It's all about having the courage of your convictions. You have to do the self-awareness work it takes to stay open-minded whilst being assertive about your stance, establishing and maintaining healthy checks and balances on your reasoning, and above all, always revising and allowing changes to your mindset when new information presents itself.

So I'm apolitical. Unapologetically, unabashedly, unreservedly so.

Is that too political for you?

Copyright ©2018 Richard C. Greenlow. All rights reserved.