What does the term "politics" mean?
Politics:
1. [usu. treated as sing.] the activities associated with the governance of a country or area, especially the debate between parties having power: the party quickly gained influence in French politics | thereafter he dropped out of active politics. ■ the activities of governments concerning the political relations between states: in the conduct of global politics, economic status must be backed by military capacity. ■ the academic study of government and the state: [as modifier] a politics lecturer. ■ a particular set of political beliefs or principles: people do not buy their paper purely for its politics. ■(often the politics of) the principles relating to or inherent in a sphere or activity, especially when concerned with power and status: the politics of gender.
2. activities aimed at improving someone's status or increasing power within an organization: yet another discussion of office politics and personalities. (Oxford Dictionary of English)
The highlighted definitions are the ones I use. Sadly, definition #2 is the commonly understood one.
When studying the Rhetoric of Politics (as I will be this semester), I suspect I will be studying the Rhetoric of power, instead of the Rhetoric of governance. Certainly, it can be argued that government and power are interchangeable, though that argument does make me a bit uncomfortable.
Fuck the STATE. Yet another cancer on the human spirit. When I visit China, that will be the hardest thing to deal with. That is, their subjugation of all things spiritual (and they were once very rich in that regard) in the interest of putting up large wall hangings of a founding member whom, by all accounts had ridiculous BO and an insatiable desire for young girls. Look it up.
ReplyDeletePower and subjugation are such a core part of our animalistic nature that no political ideology comes close to the kind of cleansing that a meteor would hopefully instead provide!
We suck!!!
Being the highly-educated redneck that I am, I'm giving Marx...........................bad marx.
ReplyDeleteGet it???
I kill me!
--- Alf
You don't get high Marx for that pun, LCH
ReplyDeleteCreamhorn writes: "Power and subjugation are such a core part of our animalistic nature that no political ideology comes close to the kind of cleansing that a meteor would hopefully instead provide!". I have to agree with everything he said except the part cleansing meteor.
ReplyDelete