When people hear a remark by a leader or representative, especially one that seems silly or wrong to them, they often say the motivation behind the statement "is just politics."
In smaller, more immediate societies, people talked of 'their civic duty'. Just as it is my responsibility to host some of the family get-togethers, it is my responsibility to do my part in the political and civic activities and needs of my society. Plural, really, societieS, since my city, county, state, and nation as well as the world are somewhat separate entities and have their own governments and needs and possibilities. I have a few friends that are poll workers today in the 2014 elections and they are doing their civic duty by contributing their time, effort and knowledge.
What is politics, anyway? To me, a basic answer is that it is people liking and disliking each other. When I vote for candidate A, neither she nor I know absolutely everything about her record, my wishes and especially the future in which we will live over the next few years. So, a good deal of my support for A comes from my reaction to her picture, her haircut, her voice and her messages.
Our families are probably the most immediate social environment for most of us. Long experience has taught us that no amount of talk, arguing, listening or togetherness will convince Uncle Herkimer that his political allegiances are wrong and ought to be changed. We do have some politicians who change parties after decades working with one of them and we might see some relatives and friends do the same sort of thing. But basically I am likely to see the world in a similar way over the years and so are you.
People together are a very powerful force. Just look at the impact of humanity on other species and the weather. Just look at the impact of humanity on each other. Jesus was crucified and Socrates was required to drink hemlock. It was politics but there is no "only" about it. What each of us like, for whatever conglomeration of reasons, impulses, memories and intuitions, matters very much.
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