Are politicians cruel or they are just ignorant?

Politics generally deals with the creation of a conducive environment for the progressive and harmonious interaction of humanity in a given community.

This conducive environment, just like any other environment, is a product of imagination, thoughts, decisions and actions especially of the people that are mandated with the administration of societal affairs on behalf others.

Such people who administer societal affairs on behalf of others are the ones we refer to as politicians.

At this point it is important to note that these politicians are selected based on their promises to the electorate as well as on their perceived abilities to deliver on the tasks that the society gives them from time to time.

However, unfortunately, many people across the world and especially in Africa are subject to the most horrific living conditions regardless of having voted for some individuals to run the society on their behalf.

This development now compels me and you to ask the question “Are politicians cruel or they just ignorant?”

In the event that they are cruel, shall we then say that cruelty is so simply synonymous with politics and on top of that, is this cold heartedness inherent in every politician?

If the answer to the above question is YES, then is the electorate always blind when it comes to choosing the right people to represent them in their respective communities?

As for me, I choose to differ and would rather refer to the current crowd of politicians across the world as merely ignorant people who lack a basic understanding of the meaning of contemporary politics and governance.

They have simply become people who are failing to discern the ever changing times and to understand that politics especially of this century is merely a result of the division of labour rather than a display of superiority and dominance.

Such ignorance therefore gives them oversight and more so blinkers them from identifying, observing and analysing the prevailing concerns of the masses and more dishearteningly, they regard expressions of discontent by the masses as signals of insubordination.

Politicians of this century and specifically of this decade are dismally failing to identify and interpret the components of a political system and as such, they are bound to subject their people to untold suffering even though they might be doing it unknowingly.

Generally a system is a sum total of interconnected components which makes something functionally whole and as such a political system entails that there are components that must be integrated in order to assemble an effective and developmental political machinery.

These components generally and broadly cover the following critical areas of human life:

a) Education and Human Development
b) Productivity and Laziness
c) Government Operations
d) Spiritual Wellbeing
e) Parenting and Social Values
f) Information Gathering and Dissemination
g) Identity and Personal Awareness
h) Business Activities, among others.
The areas (components) of human life listed above are responsive to political decisions and thus can either promote or undermine development in any given community.

When these issues are given due and informed attention they become the sources of peace and development but when they are ignorantly and carelessly handled, they become the effective components of untold human suffering as witnessed across the world today.

Ignorant politicians lack what is called political mastery and they unfortunately do this at the expense of this current and future generations.

Political mastery is hinged on understanding the interconnectedness of the people, nature, resources, gifts and talents and the law (constitution).

An understanding of how these components inter-relate helps to devise an effective response mechanism which enables adaptation and development.

This is because in any society, different people have to use their diverse gifts and talents to work on the various available resources in adapting to the dictates of nature without subjecting others to undue hardship or undue enrichment.

The failure to understand this connectedness of people, nature, resources, gifts and the law ultimately results in the failure by politicians to effectively respond to societal opportunities and threats at the expense of the masses.

Politicians must understand that their decisions and actions are subject to their exposure to the information (knowledge) that they have regarding the world around them.

This information about their environment entails their insight about:

a) Themselves (their identity, ability, strengths and weaknesses),

b) Fellow human beings (their identities, abilities, strengths and weaknesses)

c) Nature (the benefits and dangers of water, land and air and the contents thereof).

Based on this philosophy, if these politicians have wrong information about themselves, as well as about other people and nature, they will develop wrong imaginations which unfortunately leads to wrong decisions and subsequently to wrong actions.

In this case, politicians who do not know and understand the interconnectedness of nature, human beings and the available resources will unfortunately make decisions that interfere with peace and development in their respective communities whether expressly or impliedly.

As a result, the masses will always be subject to untold suffering regardless of the individuals they choose since what is needed right now is a total political mind-set shift towards crafting government institutions that are based on adaptive administrative approaches.

The primary role of politicians under any administrative philosophy, be it capitalism, communism, socialism etc. is and must be to administer the constitution which in turn harmonizes interpersonal interaction in the community.

In order to provide a harmonious environment, politicians must make and administer the necessary laws in the form of a constitution which ensures and guarantees the harmonious flow of activity in the society.

These laws will then determine:
a) people to people interaction
b) people to business interaction
c) people to government interaction
d) Government to business interaction and vice versa.

The making and designing of the constitution is done in order to ensure that people can progressively and harmoniously engage in fair and equitable interaction and transactions.

In this case, the effective administration of the constitution guarantees that:

a) People are secure through provision of peace incentives and rewards as well as chaos deterrents and punishments.

b) People's basic needs and wants are met through equitable distribution of resources and the creation of conducive environment for the interaction of buyers and sellers.

c) A platform for development is provided through creating avenues that ensures quick movement of information and people as well as movement of goods and services towards responding to opportunities and threats.

Unfortunately, a number of active political players are ignorant of these dynamics and of the interconnectedness of the political machinery and such their decisions are out of touch with the concerns of the masses.

These politicians therefore regard the electorate is unappreciative and uncooperative while the masses regard politicians as a bunch of heartless and cruel criminals.

In all this, the bottom line is that ignorance is a cruel characteristic and therefore politicians must re-align themselves with the new world where the concerns of the masses takes precedence as compared to fiefdoms and kingdoms where people are mere subjects.

Brian Kazungu is an Author, Media Practitioner, Entrepreneur and an Opinion Leader.

[email protected],
@BKazungu-Twitter, +263 773 539 832