Politics is not a Dirty Word!

Politics, for some, has always been a dirty word, and for a growing number of people, politics is beyond the pale. Yet for all its critics, the business of politics is a vital process of conducting government through the dynamics of argument, conflict and decision-making, which often reveals areas of insight into a society. The Jewish State is no exception and it’s experience over the last seventy six years with the effect of constant war and internal strife has left its mark on political stability, while the domestic ideological pressures have influenced the course of internal conflicts that undermine the very politics of inclusion.

From Theodore Herzl to Rabbi Meir Kahane ztl’s politics has been at the centre of their agendas whether it be clothed in religious garb or secular apparel. Their vision for the Jewish people cannot be intelligible without understanding the politics involved. Neither of these men were passive bystanders they were involved politically in different ways. Politics was the price they paid to acieve their goals.

I mention both men to dispell the myth current today that politics has no place to play in religion. Politics for them was a means to an end in advancing the good of society in which they operate; that, in other words, politics are a second-order activity designed to achieve objectives that are themselves not political. The objectives themselves are what matter in the end.

Whether it be Rabbi Meir Kahane ztl, Theodore Herzl or many policians of a likemind today they believe that in one way or another the issues matter enough to warrant their participation in politics at some level.

All I am suggesting is the skeptical amongst us should take another look at politics and how it fits into a viable society with a higher calling. Politics is not a dirty word but often the victim of sane men with insane ideas.