It’s becoming increasingly clear to me that politics is not really about politics anymore. It’s about personality. And it always has been.
There are different types of people (obviously) and those differences tend to shape political and other opinions. Cautious people favour government involvement. Restless people (like myself) chafe at being regulated. Should cautious people and restless people go to war on Twitter over who is “right?”
I’m not exactly breaking new ground here, but it is important to say out loud, over and over again, to remind us of the insignificance of political opinion — our own and that of others — when compared to our shared humanity. Today, as polarisation grows ever-deeper and becomes more and more of a barrier to solving more and more urgent problems, it seems a good idea to remind ourselves: politics is a grubby, shallow, and pathetic exercise in power-grabbing; it is nothing more. If you are on the other side of 30 and you intensely identify with a political idea, see a shrink. That is probably a more important contribution to society than your allyship could ever be.
Of course, politics is also hugely significant (watch me hold two contrasting viewpoints in my head at the same time!) Because political narratives battle it out for dominance, and the victor decides how we live.
I have no idea what Steve Pressfield’s politics are, but I can guess that they are reasonable. Why? Because of his worldview.
Last year I read his book “War of Art,” a manual for getting over yourself. This year I read “Nobody Wants to Read Your Shit,” a follow-on which confirms every creative’s worst fears and tells them to create anyway.
And this week, I listened to this delightful interview he did with Tim Ferriss. [Full transcript here.]
Pressfield is curious. He is humble. He is dogged in the pursuit of service. That is, serving his readers.
In other words, he is the opposite of our politicians and established media figures.
Is it too much to ask that our political and media class embody some of the same values, or even a smidgen of the humble spirit, that makes Pressfield a national treasure?
Yes, of course it is too much to ask. That is not how we humans operate. Name me a time in history when the political/intellectual/religious elites were anything other than loathsome and self-serving? Yes the French aristocracy was the literal worst, and rounding them up all up may have seemed like a good idea at first. Until of course, the revolutionary lust was unabated even after the king and queen had been slaughtered, and the revolutionaries were forced by their own ideological momentum to start slaughtering each other.
So instead, conduct that revolution in your own head, free your mind, allow your self-declared freedom to ripple outward. Then perhaps we make it through this illiberal time and come out the other end, with our heads still attached.
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What I'm listening to: Steven Pressfield
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Happy Friday! 🥳
It’s becoming increasingly clear to me that politics is not really about politics anymore. It’s about personality. And it always has been.
There are different types of people (obviously) and those differences tend to shape political and other opinions. Cautious people favour government involvement. Restless people (like myself) chafe at being regulated. Should cautious people and restless people go to war on Twitter over who is “right?”
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I’m not exactly breaking new ground here, but it is important to say out loud, over and over again, to remind us of the insignificance of political opinion — our own and that of others — when compared to our shared humanity. Today, as polarisation grows ever-deeper and becomes more and more of a barrier to solving more and more urgent problems, it seems a good idea to remind ourselves: politics is a grubby, shallow, and pathetic exercise in power-grabbing; it is nothing more. If you are on the other side of 30 and you intensely identify with a political idea, see a shrink. That is probably a more important contribution to society than your allyship could ever be.
Of course, politics is also hugely significant (watch me hold two contrasting viewpoints in my head at the same time!) Because political narratives battle it out for dominance, and the victor decides how we live.
I have no idea what Steve Pressfield’s politics are, but I can guess that they are reasonable. Why? Because of his worldview.
Last year I read his book “War of Art,” a manual for getting over yourself. This year I read “Nobody Wants to Read Your Shit,” a follow-on which confirms every creative’s worst fears and tells them to create anyway.
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And this week, I listened to this delightful interview he did with Tim Ferriss. [Full transcript here.]
Pressfield is curious. He is humble. He is dogged in the pursuit of service. That is, serving his readers.
In other words, he is the opposite of our politicians and established media figures.
Is it too much to ask that our political and media class embody some of the same values, or even a smidgen of the humble spirit, that makes Pressfield a national treasure?
Yes, of course it is too much to ask. That is not how we humans operate. Name me a time in history when the political/intellectual/religious elites were anything other than loathsome and self-serving? Yes the French aristocracy was the literal worst, and rounding them up all up may have seemed like a good idea at first. Until of course, the revolutionary lust was unabated even after the king and queen had been slaughtered, and the revolutionaries were forced by their own ideological momentum to start slaughtering each other.
So instead, conduct that revolution in your own head, free your mind, allow your self-declared freedom to ripple outward. Then perhaps we make it through this illiberal time and come out the other end, with our heads still attached.
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