From poets to columnists
Pathway to politics
By Yousef Awadh Al-Azmi
Decades ago, an eloquent poet was rated at almost the same level as a minister of Information or government’s official spokesperson in the contemporary administrative positions of countries. Many researchers of history of tribes deliberately ventured into the poems of certain famous poets in order to unearth important information related to historical, political and cultural facts about the tribes of the poets.
The fact is that a poet at that time was regarded as a politician who conveys the viewpoints of his tribe through his poems when addressing other tribes to express the political inclination of his tribe. Tribal leaders of that era used to hold poets at high esteem due to significant role they used to play.
In the contemporary era, a columnist is rated the same as a poet was in the past. Until the current era, a columnist was pretty much like a political figure and many people related with columnists based on this status.
Eventually, the era of social media and telecommunications revolution emerged and some names became popular in the media because they publicly presented their political viewpoints of a country and segments of the society; therefore, we also regard them as political figures.
At this stage, I will discuss some political positions that are not always taken for granted as they sometimes come with a price. A successful politician is the one who exploits loopholes to hint about a situation. Politics is ‘1+1=2’ but it can also be ‘1+1=0’ at times when the wind is active.
Elections are an aspect of political activities and do not represent the entire political activity sphere. This is because politicians and parliamentarians, even though they are clearly different, can share certain elements.
A politician is a man of the nation but a parliamentarian is a man of the seat. A politician capitalizes on a situation for personal benefit, while a parliamentarian exploits a transaction for selfish purpose. Making a parliamentarian a service lawmaker is no doubt easier than making a politician.
A politician is of a different breed that stands within the circle of decision, drives the populace and influences them. A politician is capable of opening horizon of the mind in dealing with situations with wisdom and pragmatic view. He has the ability to achieve set goals with better results with the lowest cost.
Characteristics of politicians are numerous, some of which are ideological, radical and pragmatic. A curious look into the local political arena will reveal that pragmatism is the most outstanding school of thought. Some people claim to be ideological, but this evaporates when political deals and contracts come into the picture! The aforementioned is not a political lesson or a subject on the definition of a politician, but it is aimed to put certain things in the right perspectives.
Finally, the best politician is the one who prioritizes the interests of others above other considerations and make it the watchword in his interactions. This is how politics transforms from poets to columnists and now to social media bloggers. All the aforementioned are pathways to politics, which can make everybody in this era into a politician.