Politics as Vocation?

There is a famous saying: Everybody wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die. Almost in the same spirit President Kennedy had once characterized politics as: Mothers all want their sons to grow up to be Presidents, but they don't want them to become politicians in the process.

Unfortunately, this cynical view of politics, all pervasive in today's world, results from what many experience of everyday politics as a Machiavellian saga of unabashed power struggle for power per se, which finds a striking portrayal in George Orwell's following words: "Politics is a mass of lies, evasions, folly, hatred and schizophrenia." In this view power is derived and held, with no holds barred, by divisively deepening the faultlines of society - caste, religion, or region - to create imaginary enemies among ourselves, almost in line with the African proverb: I and against you; we against they; all of us against the rest of the world.

But politics is not all about this mindless power game. It is and ought to be, as it has been, even if intermittently, the pursuit of commonality when, through public deliberations, collective power - yes, power - is used but to bridge the faultlines than fracturing them further to promote and protect the well-being of the collective. Recall, for example: Sant Kabir's immortal wisdoms in his dohas that uniquely preached a universal path which both Hindus and Muslims could tread together; Gandhiji's entire life as an experiment to establish conviction in compassion for universal humanity; or Martin Luther King's historic speech of "I have a dream" mobilizing Americans for the cause of Civil Rights, which were indeed ideas and practice of power, but power of the kind that influenced millions to inclusively chart out a destiny of dignity and well being for mankind. It is this pursuit of politics, of what Weber in his classic Politics as Vocation had said "a passionate devotion to a cause" that strongly interests me to pursue it as a hobby.

As a hobby, then, my engagement with politics essentially refers to (a) gaining knowledge about the dynamics that employ power to achieve common good; and (b) contributing in modest ways to strengthen such dynamics.

(a) Keeping myself constantly aware of important events and debates surrounding endeavors to bring inclusive social change is something that I instinctively pursue. Understanding how a number of individuals around the globe, even if only a handful, put their entire life at stake, and make substantial sacrifices, to serve society by making the best use of political medium, thereby employing power as a transformational tool, is a hugely interesting arena for me to unravel, and inspiring as well. This drives me to, for example: readings books and articles, following relevant websites and e-news portals, listening to lectures in seminars, etc., watching podcasts, and the like that cover such events and debates.

(b) I try to give expression to my passion for politics with the help of knowledge so gained in a number of modest ways, but fundamentally they mean engaging with others, across lines of difference, on matters of public or common interest. These include, for example, participating in debates on issues of social and contemporary relevance, in directing plays that convey a social message, and simply sitting down with friends and colleagues to discuss issues of importance. By seeking to draw meaning from the seemingly naive and even day to day interactions with others, by influencing others to see my point of view or to enhance my knowledge from their multiple perspectives, and in the process by advancing inclusive ideas and practices together, I do my bit to strengthen the ongoing pursuits of commonality and, thus, in a way I practice politics, every day, every time.

I would like to conclude by saying that howsoever challenging this idea, or to many - the ideal, may be, but one of the ways we can help actualize this as ordinary citizens, and thereby counter the cynicism surrounding it, to render politics relevant to lives of the million is by shunning politics as a source of living and, thus, exploring and enjoying it as a hobby, in the sense I have expounded above. Also, politics is incomplete without the voice and action of young people like us. By exploring politics in its broadest sense, politics will become more relevant to the youth, and the youth will become more relevant to politics. I indeed enjoy it as a hobby.