Getting out of bed in the morning is a political decision. It sounds daft at first glance, doesn’t it? How can possibly the most innocuous decision of the day have anything to do with politics, at least for ordinary, sensible folk? The problem starts with the fact that most of us think politics is something it isn't.
It’s over half a century since I first heard that claim. I was in an English class being taught by a locum teacher who was clearly freewheeling his 45 minutes of emergency cover. I don’t recall if he attempted to explain himself or not. I probably wasn’t listening - after all, a lesson with a locum was pretty much as good as time off for good behaviour in my book. But it wouldn’t go away. I didn’t understand what he was getting at - and that bothered me, because it was rarely the case that I didn’t understand.
We often think of politics as an almost physical thing. An interest, an action, a hobby, a fixation. Whatever; as long as we can take it or leave it. Many of us think of it as something best left as far alone as possible. And definitely not talked about - how rude! And therein lies the answer to my question, right alongside probably most of our most intractable problems as a society. Because politics isn’t an abstract thing, or a lifestyle choice, or something we can ever avoid. Politics is an aspect of our own being, as close and personal to us as our own shadow. Anyone who thinks they are apolitical has missed the point already, whatever the debate. Politics isn’t about elections and parties and policies; they are the product of politics, not the driver.
Already I can hear the pedants and theorists revving up their arguments. But frankly, dictionary definitions of “politics” such as The Cambridge Dictionary's:
“the activities of the government” [1]
have also missed the point. The word “Politics” comes from the ancient Greek Politika (politiká, meaning “affairs of the cities”) and describes:
“the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of status or resources.” [2]
In other words, it’s about how we choose to interact with the people and the world around us. We vote according to those choices, which is why so many people are keen to influence them - like politicians and media barons. But those personal choices are shaped by many experiences in our everyday life, not just the influence that politicians and others try to exert over us. When we vote for a party or a politician we delegate to them our agency over how society is governed. That’s why they at least talk about being accountable to us, even if some of them would prefer the opposite were true.
Having the option to make those choices is both a massive privilege and a responsibility. We are different to any other animal on the planet because, for the vast majority of us, the daily choices we make are not based on our need to survive, but on the style in which we would prefer to survive [3]. An animal wakes up and has to go find food - any food - because it needs to do that to survive. Most humans wake up and choose what to have for breakfast: meat or veggie, barn eggs or free range, healthy or indulgent - we have the freedom to make those choices. And so our day begins, a day in which we will make hundreds of choices, each one of which will impact the society in which we live, and the people we share that society with. There’s no escaping it. Just as the wolf or the sheep must eat to survive, we must make choices about how we want our survival to take shape. Those choices form the basis of our politics, and they are as close and personal to us as our own shadow.
That means our choices are important. We can’t ignore them. In theory we could just lie in bed until we die, refusing to make any further decisions beyond deciding not to make any more choices. The result would be exactly the same as for an animal that decided not to hunt for food anymore. And since those choices are the basis not only of our own personal politics, but ultimately, through our opinions and votes, the basis of what shapes the way our society is governed, that means we can’t ignore politics. How we interact with the society around us is our political shadow. If the line between the actor and the acting is invisible and yet immutable, the two are effectively one. Getting out of bed and continuing to make choices, whether to be apathetic, diligent, hard-working, criminal, activist, or just to keep our heads down and hope for the best, all those choices are part of that political shadow we cast.
We can’t ignore politics because we are politics, and getting out of bed is a political decision.
[1] Cambridge Dictionary - “Politics”
[2] Wikipedia - Politics
[3] I recognise that unfortunately for some of us those choices are still based on the need to survive.
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