Partisan Politics And Sanity Of Mind

It is, perhaps, common knowledge that our mental faculty is more advanced than all other living things on Earth. “Primus inter Pares” may be said to be an adequate term to use to refer to humans among other living entities that the biologist or taxonomist classifies as higher animals. The mind is central to our humanity. It enables us, inter alia, to solve more complex problems employing higher logic.

One downside of this blessing is that humans can become deceptive very easily, capitalizing on, of course, this same mental aptitude. It seems that whilst this is being done, a person becomes oblivious of the fact that it is his or her humanity that is being sacrificed.

Partisan politics has, sadly, become a hub where “madness” is displayed with impunity. That is, there is a rampant intentional rejection of rightful thinking that regards the greater good of society, but to advance a political party’s craving for power and glory. But is this supposed to be the case? Mustn’t those who engage in politics of any kind have as their utmost desire the improvement in the quality of life of the people? The so-called political class may claim this, but their heinous agenda soon exposes such an assertion as just empty words.

Political parties form governments through a defined electoral process, bringing their diverse expertise to the management of various sectors within a country. This is particularly so with democracies, the most widespread system of governance practised by nation-states today. The multi-party model drives these democracies, chiefly.

The existence of political parties, which brings about partisan politics, is supposed to facilitate the competition of ideas, but it seems that concept has lost its objective. The competition of ideas provides the avenue for enabling checks and balances of the government in power. The relevance of this is seen in the fact that within the government, different arms separate the powers invested in the government.

On the issue of enhancing the quality of life of the people, the national good must definitely be the heartbeat of anyone engaged in politics. From the political arguments they put forward to the actions they take, all must be inspired by the spirit of nationalism. Meanwhile, we are, in many instances, confronted with extreme partisan politics to the extent that it raises questions of soundness of mind.

We have seen too many cases which may be described as “the dog has returned to its vomit.” These situations make it quite clear that many who are engaged in political arguments are bent on scoring points for their political parties instead of contributing meaningfully to the greater good of society. One who is consumed with partisan politics will argue vehemently for one idea, depending on whether his or her political party is in government. Otherwise, the same person would argue “brilliantly” against the same idea because he or she has moved to the other side of political power.

This reveals the deception that partisan politics may peddle, so that it becomes obvious that many political propositions are clothed not in the quest to improve the life of the lot but to crave for power, chase after wealth, and to wallow in glory.

Another case to ponder is the issue of the switching of political allegiance. People go to all the length to defend their political parties of affiliation. They demonstrate how formidable their ideas are and how they are right in the decisions they make. People are even ready to physically fight to defend their interests, even hurting their relationships with other people, compromising how we, humans, should live in our societies. When the relationship people have with their political parties becomes sour, and they switch camp to other political parties, then it is like a scale has fallen off their eyes, and they now begin to see clearly. Suddenly, their new camp becomes a more excellent one whose ideas are now to be accepted by the people. This, among others reveal the loophole in the thinking of many people about how one’s political affiliation must be.

Furthermore, defending corruption insofar as it is coming from one’s political party is another perspective from which insanity is seen in partisan politics. Political parties promise to declare war on corruption. The reality has been that it is rare for political parties in power to expose the corrupt acts in their own camp. They, as it were, supervise corruption, and it takes a change in government to expose these acts. This, then, begs the question of what it means to fight corruption. Partisan politics even makes people go on protests against state institutions in their quest to shield members of their camp who have been accused of corruption. It seems that we sing the praises of the fight against corruption when it is those in other political parties who are being called to face justice, but we burst into lamentation when those involved belong to our political parties.

So, there is a certain insanity that, regrettably, accompanies partisan politics. True patriots can surmount this and build nation-states on a sound mind. Our minds lie at the heart of our humanity. When this is sacrificed, then we are letting go of our very humanity, which carries the potential of building stable and prosperous societies. For the love of our nation, we can do better.

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