The effect of negative politics

Politics has been always a part of our lives. Whether we vote or not, support any political party or not, engage in political discussions or not, politics touches different realms of our lives, especially when it starts polarizing society to such an extent that there is no middle ground. You are assumed to be either with or against them. You will be assigned a side, even if you don't choose any. Actually, choosing a side is not bad, we must take a stand on issues. Neutrality doesn't solve any problems, it makes it worse. However, bracketing someone as a friend or enemy based on their stand is the problem. Extreme polarization is a direct effect of negative politics. This is a type of politics where a leader or a political party establishes their identity entirely based on their political opponent. The political opponent is no longer just a political rival but is categorized as an enemy of the state, and the same label is given to all its supporters. This is the type of politics where the party we support entirely evades any scrutiny as they want our attention only focused on our opponents. Each and every move of the opponent is highlighted as an antinational activity. No wonder such politics divides a country more than any enemy propaganda can. People start treating their political rivals as anti-nationals, each election is like a war against the enemy of the state rather than an election between ideologies. 

Now you may ask, what's new in all this? Political parties and their leaders were always attacking each other, political rivalries and heated arguments have been part of our culture for centuries, and political polarization existed before. And you are right. However, we were not as siloed as we are now. I was amazed to see how soloed people are. Nowadays, people read only a particular newspaper or watch only a particular news channel, and follow a particular movie star, not because they feel that's the best or most informative, but just because it supports their political ideology. People surround themselves with people who think and behave the same. How pathetic it is for the development of our society. We are hesitant to engage with people different than us and without any engagement we have very strong opinions about them. In an era where information is easily accessible to a large population, we chose to live in echo chambers. In an era where we know most about gender equality, different sexualities, and different facets of human life, many of us chose to close our eyes and ears and think that the regressive society of 100 years back was a better place than today's society. 

Does all this make me angry, frustrated, sad, or all three? Well, sometimes. But mostly I feel pity. I feel pity for all who only define themselves based on their perceived political enemies without having their own identity. I feel pity for all those who refuse to accept the feelings and choices of their fellow humans and resent or hate them just for who they are. I feel pity, not because I feel I am more intelligent or better informed than them, but because they have access to the same information that I used to refine and update my views but they refuse to do it. I had very dated views about many social and political issues as came from an underprivileged background and access to information was not easy. But when that access became available I used it to check each and every value and opinion that I held on to so dearly. Many of them couldn't stand that scrutiny, the choice I had was to stick to my old beliefs and refuse to change or accept that many things that I learned from my culture were regressive and I should change. I am glad that I chose to change. This is why I can now recognize the negative politics and stay away from it. I am optimistic that people will come out of their siloed chambers and recognize and appreciate the diversity of our world. Imagine having the same color, same pattern, same leader, same song, same ideology, and same gender, and the same everything around. How unreal and unnatural that world will look. The negative politics wants us to desire just that, a society without any diversity, be aware, and act accordingly. 

Thank you for reading and please share your views on this topic. 

© Vinay Thakur, All rights reserved, Vinay can be reached at thevinay2022@gmail.com

Sports rivalry and a life lesson

The FIFA World Cup recently got concluded. The world witnessed one of the best finals played ever. Keeping aside issues related to the organization of this World Cup and corruption charges against FIFA, it was an entertaining event. Messi, who was desperately trying to conquer the only remaining frontier in his illustrious career, helped his team win the much-coveted title after 36 years. And how can we forget another rising star, Mbappe, who plays for the same club as Messi, at the age of 23 already played in two World Cup finals, and was part of the French team that won the last World Cup. The final did not disappoint, it lived up to the hype and excitement. The game was a roller coaster ride after the first 80 minutes when Argentina looked like cruising towards their much-awaited World Cup triumph with a 2-0 lead. The way Mbappe brought his team back into the game by nullifying Argentina's leads was amazing. Unfortunately, the finals can have only one winner, so even though both teams played a great game, Argentina beat France on penalties to win their third World Cup title. 

I started watching football after learning about the magical skills of Maradona when Argentina won the World Cup in 1986. I was heartbroken when Argentina lost in the 1990 World Cup finals. When it comes to playing, I prefer cricket, another team sport, I have played cricket since my childhood and even play now also whenever I get a chance. Competitive sports always amazes me. People watch them not only for fun but also for inspiration, they try to look for heroes and icons that can inspire their generation or country. Many times, such icons get elevated to the status of a cult, Pele, Mohammad Ali, Michael Jordan, Maradona, Sachin Tendulkar, Zidane, Ronaldo, and Messi are just a few examples of such cult sports icons. Also, rivalries in sports are intense. However, I like it when players play intensely against each other and shake hands at the end of bitterly fought contests. There are exceptions where teams fight and things get ugly or when teams mock their opponents. I love the spectacle where winners try to console losers and shake hands acknowledging their efforts. Appreciating the efforts of your opponent after a bitterly fought contest is not an easy task, no matter on which side you are. I wish people learned an important life lesson from competitive sports. Respecting and appreciating the efforts of our opponents is something for everyone to learn. Try to give everything when you are on the field, but once the final whistle is blown and the match is over, shake hands with each other and move on, no matter what is the result. If you win, acknowledge the efforts of your opponents and wish them better luck next time. If you lose, congratulate the winners and resolve to come back and try harder next time. Come out of that game with some lessons and resolve. Try to come out not only as a better player but also as a better person. 

Sports and rivalry go hand in hand, but rivalry does not teach us to hate our opponent. It teaches us to make every effort to defeat our opponent, to be better than them, and to try to do our best. It doesn't teach us to hate our opponent, it doesn't teach us to throw them out of the arena, it doesn't teach us not to play by the rules, and it doesn't teach us that there should not be any opponent. We live in a world with diverse opinions and views. It is impossible that we all will agree all the time. There will be disagreements, many times, on very sensitive issues. Sometimes, we lose or win bitterly fought battles either in elections or in courts. In both cases, we should understand that the other team was also fighting for their team and is part of our society, we need to live with them and not without them. This is why it is necessary to respect our opponents. Respecting does not mean agreeing with them, it does not mean not opposing them, and it does not mean not pointing out their flaws and mistakes. Respecting means acknowledging their right to fight for their cause, acknowledging their efforts, and agreeing that even after defeat they also have the right to exist and build their team as much as we have. These simple steps will reduce the amount of hatred and polarization that we are witnessing around us. I hope as we talk and cherish memories of grand sporting events, we also learn the lesson to appreciate our own victories and defeats and treat our opponents with the respect they deserve.  

Thank you for reading and please share your views on this topic. 

© Vinay Thakur, All rights reserved, Vinay can be reached at thevinay2022@gmail.com