Politics, explained in a nice 2×2 matrix.
Look carefully. The x-axis is labeled “stupid, average, smart.” The y-axis “evil” and “good.”
On the top left are the mostly good-intentioned people who, by and large, are just about getting by: people like you and me. We don’t have time for all the shenanigans that the politicians engage in – we have bills to pay, children to raise, eggs to buy at the grocery store. We don’t time to learn about the complex issues facing us (although I somewhat blame the media for this – who remembers the great documentaries of the 70s and 80s, like “CBS Reports” on “Hunger in America” and “The Defense of the United States?” These multi-hour docs were important and relevant!)
In any event it’s us, the normal people, that the other three quadrants vie for in elections, or coups, or revolutions.
On the bottom left – the Stupid-Evil are politicians who simply say they can solve everything, end of story. Leave it to us, they say. And they spread lies and disinformation (“the foreigners are taking all our jobs,” “they’re grooming our kids in school!”) to make sure we vote for them.
On the bottom right are the Smart-Evil. They’re about raw, unbridled power, pure and simple. And they get it and keep it by eliminating those who aren’t with them. It’s us and them and you better not be one of them, a kulak or a Jew or a Uighur because one night we’ll be knocking on your door! And don’t show any sympathy to those people either, because we’re coming for you too!
And on the top right are the good guys, those who recognize that progress for all the people, all of us, takes time, takes thought, and takes work. They know they might not have all the answers right now…but they ask you to have some faith in their good intentions and focus.
Sometimes we get tired or impatient with how long it takes and with the setbacks that inevitably occur. Frustrated, we allow someone on the bottom to take power, and shame on us for doing so.
You may not agree with the names I’ve put in the matrix (it’s my matrix and I’ll put in whomever I want.) Feel free to do your own.
But that’s it. That’s the grand cycle. Like it or not.