At its best, politics is the messy means by which we grapple with choices and decide on a plan to make genuine progress. But at its worst, politics is a quagmire of finger-pointing, name-calling, and entrenched positions where progress is impossible.
Luckily, politics has been around for a long time and, if we so choose, we can draw lessons from the past about how to make our politics work well for us. Here are five quick lessons offered by the ages.
1. Get Involved
“Everyone fancies that his own neglect will do no harm, but that it is somebody else’s business to keep a look-out for him, and this idea, cherished alike by each, is the secret ruin of all.”
— PERICLES (circa 495–429 BCE), ancient Greek politician.
It’s easy to criticize from on high but, if we are earnest in our desire to build a better world, we need to get involved, take risks, learn to compromise and make choices. You don’t have to run for office, but you do need to find a way to support the political process.
2. Be Hopeful
"[H]ope, the paramount duty that Heaven lays for its own honour, on man’s suffering heart."
— WILLIAM WORDSWORTH (1770–1850), English poet.
I love the notion that, for a leader, hope is not optional, it’s mandatory. People can despair on their own. We don’t need our leaders despairing for us. We need them to be hopeful, sincerely believing in our capacity to come together, work together, and find a way forward.
3. Stay Grounded
“There is no worse heresy than that the office sanctifies the holder of it.”
— LORD ACTON (1834–1902), British historian.
Should you seek and win political office, keep your feet on the ground. It’s easy to get caught up in the job and the trappings of power. You can lose your way and confuse being noticed with making a difference. Find reward in giving your best, something that requires humility and a genuine love for the work you do and those you serve.
4. Be the Best Version of Yourself
“Fame is a vapor, popularity an accident, riches take wings, those who cheer today will often curse tomorrow, only one thing endures — character.”
— HORACE GREELEY (1811–72), American newspaper editor.
As a leader, don’t stoop to be selfish, small-minded and mean-spirited. Instead, reach high to be generous, compassionate, resourceful, determined, resilient, courageous, optimistic, and trustworthy. Good and bad qualities are in each of us. Our best leaders draw the best out of us by warm invitation and genuine example.
5. Keep Growing
“Education is a process that goes on ’til death. The moment you see someone who knows she has found the one true way, and can call all the others false, then you know you’re in the company of an ignoramus.”
— MAYA ANGELOU (1928–2014), American poet.
Getting elected isn’t a rite of passage to wisdom. You have to keep growing. See yourself as a work forever in progress. Keep an open mind. Stay alive to the real possibility that a view you hold may be wrong and you will need to exchange it for a better one. Those who look to you for leadership don’t expect perfection, but they’re surely entitled to progress, including your own.