Daily Connect: A Brief Rumination on Politics

it is ceaselessly curious to myself that i am entangled within the academic world of political science and yet have done everything in my power to change its traditional contours of legitimate inquiry. notably i've been invested in religion, which, unfortunately, for the bulk of the discipline's literature, remains epiphenomenal, and, therefore, invalid for real significant (and scientific!) inquiry. if political science seeks to locate the outstanding variables that help explain the consequences and behavior of power and its players, that is, religion is less a factor of contention and more a result of power's configuration. it's not beliefs that matter, but the material reality that constitutes those beliefs - beliefs are simply secondary phenomenon. this, i've always found somewhat (okay, reeeaaaaaalllly) unsatisfactory, but what i have found, is that i've become more and more agnostic towards politics even while ostensibly one of the privileged designated to study it in the realm of human affairs.

this was not always so. i was terribly, terribly invested in the politics of the world. i would argue and fight with opponents as though the end of the world was well nigh around the bend if certain policies - or better yet, if entire paradigms of power! - were not subverted and reconfigured. i've got to say, i just don't care anymore.

well. that isn't entirely true. but i have noticed, and some of my more politically involved friends have also noticed, that i've become far less invested in political programs and policies than i used to be. is this a result of my burgeoning affection and affiliation with buddhism? perhaps. but what i do know is that the urgency of being right is no longer what sustains me and that despite my very very consistent socio-economic plight throughout my life, it was truly my mind's relationship to itself that ultimately helped contribute to a bit more of the personal sanity i bring to contentious interpersonal relationships - whether close or far in intimate proximity. would i love politics to incorporate these lessons? of course. but my and others' suffering is now my responsibility, not simply the product of a world insufficiently realized politically.

happy thursday loves.

for a lovely interview with ethan nichtern about buddhism and politics, please read Where Politics and Buddhism Intersect. i'd love to see an updated interview on this. no pressure, my dear ethan. x