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== "All Issues Are Political Issues" ==

== "All Issues Are Political Issues" ==

George Orwell, the author of ''Animal Farm'' and ''1984'', famously observed that "all issues are political issues."  The comment was not intended to be a compliment, but instead a recognition of political decisions made in this world really are.

George Orwell, the author of ''Animal Farm'' and ''1984'', famously observed that "all issues are political issues."  The comment was not intended to be a compliment, but instead a criticism of many decisions in this world are influenced by political considerations.

Politics pervades government, and extends far beyond.  Many people are hired and fired from jobs for political, in a broad sense of the word, reasons.  The president of Chick-fil-A took a stand in support of traditional marriage, and a political controversy resulted that caused some to avoid going there, while others went there in a show of support.

Politics pervades governmental decisions, obviously, but politics extends far beyond that.  When you hear news you don't understand, or even if you do understand it, ask yourself: is there a political reason for this?

 

For example, the Salem Witch Trials in 1692, in which 20 were executed for allegedly being witches (a term that included women and women), are difficult to understand from a strictly legal perspective.  But when the politics of the town are explained, then it is easier to understand.  Poor people in the town, who sat on the juries, were resentful of some of the accused wealthier defendants.  The accusations and trials became a form of class struggle.

 

Similarly, the acquittal of O.J. Simpson of murdering his ex-wife is surprising if one looks only at the mountain of evidence that was presented against him.  It requires an appreciation of the racial politics of the Los Angeles area, dating back to the Rodney King incident, to understand why a nearly entirely African American jury acquitted the African American celebrity O.J. Simpson against charges presented primarily by a white prosecutor based on testimony by white police officers.

 

Politics extends even to fast food.  The president of Chick-fil-A spoke out in defense of traditional marriage, and soon that fast-food chain was focus of a political dispute.  Many went there in support of its position, while others said they would no longer go there.  One executive filmed an abusive tirade that he unleashed on a Chick-fil-A employee due to the politics, and then that executive was fired from job after his video "went viral" on the internet (was widely seen and talked about).

The U.S. Constitution, and before it the Articles of Confederation, resolved only very basic issues.  On a daily basis there are politically motivated attempts to interpret and apply the U.S. Constitution in different ways, or even ignore it entirely.  As Benjamin Franklin said at the conclusion of the Constitutional Convention, when questioned by the public as he left Independence Hall, the new U.S. Constitution establishes "a republic, '''''if you can keep it'''''."<ref>http://www.bartleby.com/73/1593.html</ref>  The struggle for the values on which the United States was founded is ongoing and never complete.

The U.S. Constitution, and before it the Articles of Confederation, resolved only very basic issues.  On a daily basis there are politically motivated attempts to interpret and apply the U.S. Constitution in different ways, or even ignore it entirely.  As Benjamin Franklin said at the conclusion of the Constitutional Convention, when questioned by the public as he left Independence Hall, the new U.S. Constitution establishes "a republic, '''''if you can keep it'''''."<ref>http://www.bartleby.com/73/1593.html</ref>  The struggle for the values on which the United States was founded is ongoing and never complete.