Politics Much of our history is a guess. It is based on the interpretation of what is found in archaeological digs, the writings of those in power at the time, and the arbitrary dating of what is uncovered. We talk about all the lies and exaggerations in politics today, but that is nothing new and when we read about ancient battles, it all depends on who is doing the writing. In the case of ancient Egypt, some experts have said some of the writings were slanted to make it seem Egypt did better than they did. Yes, politics even existed in ancient times. Elections for office seem to go all the way back to the 500s B.C. These elections took place in Ancient Greece. It was said to be a very unusual election and nothing like we have today. The voters had to be male and owners of land. The election was to see what politicians they wanted to be exiled for ten years. Hey, maybe we could adapt this. I can think of quite a few politicians I would like to see gone. Having said this who knows how the even earlier tribes picked their leaders? Was it the bravest or most successful hunter, or the wisest member? Maybe it was even just the most likeable member, or the strongest member who could defeat the rest in battle. Politics has always been a dirty game. It often involved death. After all many who wanted power had first to get rid of the rightful heir to the throne. Even today, there are cases of people being killed to prevent them from taking over the rule of their country. Despots have a long history of eliminating the competition. Sometimes, even when a particularly vicious leader dies, many think he is still alive because he was so feared in life. Look at all the Hitler stories. There are television shows about his life in South America after the war. On the other hand, it seems his body was found in a grave outside his bunker, but there are many stories about that not being his body but a double. He was not the only one who people believed was still alive longer than he was. Genghis Khan’s grave seems to be hidden, could this be because they were afraid at the time that the many people who hated him would desecrate it if they found it? It is said the worst of all politics took place in the royal courts over the centuries. Poison became the most popular tool in doing away with one’s rivals. It became very popular in Italy in the Renaissance. The Borgia family became famous for being the most prolific poisoners of their time. They were said to have eliminated cardinals, bishops and nobles and alternated the different poisons they used. Some believe even Pope Alexander the 6th was poisoned, but others disagree. In order to distract people from some of the things going on in politics at any given time, there are several methods used. One is starting a war; one you could win and blame the other side. Hitler did this when he dressed German soldiers like Polish soldiers and had then invade Germany. Of course, he ranted about the Poles invading Germany after that and invaded them. In even more modern times control the news outlets and if a story must be released do it at the worst time and worst day for people to see it. Another method is to create a story which will keep the real political story out of the news by it being more sensational. One thing which I think I can say, but some countries will not agree with, is the worst way to get a leader is through royalty. It has been bad for countries more times than good. It has also led to much more intrigue. There are actually lists of the greatest kings, and obviously the people who wrote the lists didn’t have to live in their time. Most of the lists have more to do with what kings conquered more land than others. We tend to glamorize these people today. Take Alexander the Great for example, he appears as number one on many lists and was no doubt one of the greatest generals ever, but was hardly ever home making life better for his people. Sure, the generals in his army loved him and became rulers of the countries he conquered, but how did the ordinary soldier feel about constant fighting and dying? The same is true for many of the others on the list. It is a shame we can’t make politics more civil. If only the entire world had one system and that was a clean vote for their leaders that would go a long way. On the other hand, too bad we can’t prevent all the lies which are told. Can you imagine politics where no lies are allowed and people just had to run on either what the accomplished or wish to accomplish? That would certainly be unique. It has been said one of the most hated professions is lawyers. No offense intended. Many politicians are lawyers giving them a double whammy. This makes some people dislike them even more. I think one of the biggest problems in government today is secrecy, at least in our governments. Think about it, we elect people who then get into office and start keeping secrets from us. Wasn’t the idea we would get more access to what is going on and try and elect people that see politics the same way we do? Some people think politics is particularly dirtier today, but the truth is it has always been dirty but gone through cycles. Some elections have been much cleaner than others, but there were still things going on we didn’t know about. One thing which cannot be separated from politics is money. It seems like every year it costs more money to run a campaign and this makes money evil, because who ever supplies the money now has the candidate beholding to him and in many cases will be able to get political favors. This has been demonstrated many times. In parties there are individuals known as the bag men or women who under some circumstances can get you money from others for a campaign if you promise to be loyal. Bribery is not uncommon. In many ways the political system we have here needs to be cleaned up.
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