The 2 Constants

This story begins at a time before stories began, to the earliest dawn of humanity. From the first steps of the Homo Sapiens traversing the world on foot to the modern day, there are 2 aspects of our existence that has remained constant: Death and Politics. This blog will be on politics, but depending on the reception of this post, I might write up a section on death.

Death and Politics are interlocked in a yin and yang formation. One is a literal constant, a fate you can't avoid no matter who you are - Emperor of the World or a person who simply traverses in it. The other is a constant idea. There is no one politics if you will. Opinions can change on a dime, and these opinions themselves are a dime a dozen. From the earliest political thinkers and leaders such as Plato or Julius Caesar to a more enlightened, more modern way of thinking under character such as Rousseau and leaders such as Napoleon Bonaparte, there is a lesson to take to heart: you can kill a man, but not his ideas. Whilst this lesson is a common saying in today's world, when you take time to think about the statement, it can be applied to the field of politics. Politics is all over around you, whether you know it or like it is up to your discretion.

Politics is a factor that is always present, no matter how small or big. A classroom can have class politics with how everyone interacts within the class. The types of character in these political circumstances can be characters such as the popular kid, the jock, the nerd, the quiet kid, and other character types that play into how one can get the most out of their current situations. In this example, the class is a political system, where the way one interacts with the characters around them is a testament to ways of political thinking and political theories. The popular kid, for instance, is at the top of the social totem pole, whilst traditionally characters such as nerds are at the lower end of the totem pole. The actions one can take to move themselves in this totem pole, by way of either lifting themselves up or getting "promoted" by gaining approval of characters above them in the pecking order is the very essence of politics.

The classroom isn't the only scenario where politics is present. Even at our caveman times, the way communities were organized, the roles given to each other by our ancestors, and crucially, who we should antagonize, all link to politics. I would like to point out the importance of the last section talking about antagonizing, since these can be seen as the earliest forms of social constructs. The idea of disliking someone and dehumanizing them because they are not "one of us" is a primitive idea. Politics speaks to something primitive within us, underneath the veneer of civilization. After all, with only 24 hours and two meals away from barbarism, we have more in common with the caveman than you think. This common factor is thus a constant worthy of being mentioned and talked about, as those who do not learn from their past are doomed to repeat it. Studying in areas such as politics, history, and philosophy is therefore important to be able to navigate the modern world.

For those that would argue that all these changes in political opinions and views overtime would not be able to make politics as a constant in the universe, I leave you with the words of Ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus: "Change is the only constant". Political change is change.