po·lit·i·cal/pəˈlitikəl/
Of or relating to the government or the public affairs of a country.
Of or relating to the ideas or strategies of a particular party or group in politic
One lacking in drama....
One of quietude...
One which does not run the risk of lapsing into a state of conflict, drawing unwanted scrutiny or alienating any person or institution with whom I may have cause to come into contact...
...or so I have been told!
I have been pulled up on several occasions of late, both by people close to me... & complete strangers... & informed in no uncertain terms, that the reason I have 'problems' in my life... the reason I am 'The Exiled Educator'... the reason I do not have a life filled with fluffy bunnies & rainbows... is because I have too much of a 'political' mind... too many 'political' opinions... & generally cannot stop being so damned 'political'!
Before I go much further I must clarify...
...this label of 'political' is one which has been affixed to me by the judgement of others & definitely NOT one which I would ascribe to myself.
... I have, after all, very little idea of the real 'state of the economy'... could not even begin to tell you about a recent political scandal... & to be perfectly honest don't really care for much of what goes on in the 'world of politics' on a day to day basis, the names of the players, or know exactly how much of the public purse they have squandered this week creating spin to justify their next horrific act... and I don't even watch the news!
However...
I DO care about revealing & preventing the corrupt practices of those in power against the people they have power over...
I DO have an interest in learning & spreading ideas about how to rid ourselves of the stranglehold that 'Big Government' & 'Big Business' have over our individual freedoms, food chain, water supplies, land ownership rights, economic systems, technological communications & information sharing abilities, cultural ideas, education, spiritual beliefs and social structuring...
...and I DO earnestly wish for a world free of statist constructed war, poverty, bigotry, inequity and slavery...
... so I guess it may be that, in the minds of some, I am a *little* bit 'political'!
10 years ago my greatest concern in life was where mine & my children's next penny, meal & fun times were coming from. Being 'political' was not something I had the energy, interest or brain capacity for. It was not fun, it was not easy to fathom & it definitely wasn't cool.
The closest thing I had to political awareness was when the BBC news told me over dinner their version of how the world looked today & an occasional letter from the DWP about changes to my state pension...
...I believed that I lived in a country & region of the world where war, poverty & political corruption were just images on the TV from a far distant land.
Home educating my children was a decision I came to at the time of this state of mind... the one where I was only doing what I thought was immediately best for me & mine & that was the most important thing in life.
As with much at that time, I believed this was simply exercising a 'right' that I had as a person living in a 'civilised' & culturally sophisticated part of the world & time in history... & I did not have any fear that this was a right that could ever be jeopardized...
...just like my belief in 'rights' to clean water & air, adequate food & shelter & freedom of thought, movement & speech.
...AND THEN I GREW THE HELL UP!!!
I'm not sure if it was JUST the Badman saga...
...Im sure I'd started to question the status quo prior to that...
... but it was definitely instrumental in bringing about a change in the way I saw the whole of the world around me.
It was around that time I first heard this (now well worn) quote, which is attributed to Pastor Martin Niemöller
It has become a favourite of many of the the more politically aware members of the UK home education community, since it became apparent that we are, on the whole, viewed very much as a renagade faction of society... one which does not conform to the 'norms'... one which bucks the trend to leave the education of our children up to the state.First they came for the communists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me.
As such, when the practice of home education came under attack from the previous government via the Badman report & there was an attempt to introduce legislation which would have severely limited our freedom to live & educate as we thought best, as opposed to how the state saw fit, we did not garner much in the way of support from those who did not choose this path for their own families.
What is more there were some within the home education community who also did not see what concern it was of theirs that the liberties of home educators were under threat... some were nearing the end of their own home education journeys, some believed that the proposed changes were only going to affect the more 'unorthodox' types & still others were merely apathetic about the whole thing, seemingly believing that the fight would be fought by other more 'political' types & so did not require their effort or input!
Those of us who did engage in the process were privy to what I can only describe as an unwarranted, dirty & downright evil attempt to besmirch us as community & as individuals. An effort which was garnished with hefty sprinklings of corruption, lies, illegitimate wranglings & the overstepping of many marks.
It wasn't just the outrageously inaccurate & offensive report by Mr. Bad Man... It was a multifaceted attempt by government- nationally & locally, by numerous organizations & those with vested financial interests, by individuals in the public & private spheres, by the media, celebrities, other home educators & various petty rent-seekers to each get in a twist of the knife & a piece of the pie... it was, frankly, a frightening, exhausting & disheartening time...
...& it was also very, very enlightening!
A few months ago my interest in the 'political' took an even more personal turn & the Niemöller quote an even more personal twist...
In exercising my assumed 'right' to family privacy I was put to the test on my willingness to assert this right. I was put in a position where I had to make a choice... either live my morals & 'walk the talk'... or allow the 'rights' that I wished to have, to be taken away & compromise my belief that freedom, privacy & autonomy should be something which I, and every individual, should be afforded & has the responsibility to fight for...
...Fortunately when "they came for me" there were others who also believed as I do... who were also prepared to be political & active & empathetic, rather than apathetic... others who also were prepared to fight, & think & walk the talk!
I guess what I learned from all of that was that it doesn't matter whether you consider yourself 'political'... whether you have an interest in politics... whether you can be bothered to get your head around the way it all works...
... at some point in life, somehow, some way, politics WILL take an interest in YOU!
Whilst you are busy being unaware, uninterested & uninvolved in 'politics' the wheels of politics will never-the-less continue to turn... Those in power will continue to grab for more... and the instruments of the state will continue to play the tunes to which they would have us all dance.
You may THINK you have the right to freedom, privacy, autonomy of thought & deed... water, food shelter... a vote, equality, peace... education, heath care, social welfare, free speech... to not be victimised or offended or endangered or killed... but the 'rights' you believe yourselves to have are not written in stone... & I actually gravely doubt the reality of many of them... they are but a mirage. They are merely privileges accredited to us by others... they are hard won & can be easily lost.
It might be that your life is already full of everyday 'stuff' to attend to... it might be that you prefer to focus on the positive aspects of life & negate the negative... it may well be that you find politics difficult & boring & testing on your nerves... but unless you are prepared to defend, fight for & assert these 'rights' you believe in so strongly you may well find that in fact there is someone... or many others... who do not agree that you have such rights at all & who are prepared to take them away from you!
Therefore I have this to say in return to those who have accused me of this terrible crime against my own ability to live a "peaceful & positive" existence...
...this crime of being 'political'.
I would rather be exiled, rather be distraught, rather be in conflict, rather have to keep on the move, rather worry, rather exhaust my body, mind & soul being 'political'... than live a life in ignorance and denial, be unaware of the goings on of the world I inhabit, or hide my head in the sand & only ever see life thru rose tinted spectacles!...
...And when they come for me I will be ready for them!
...And when they come for you, and your children & your neighbours & mine, I will speak out for you all... just as others have done for me!... & I will be proud to have been a little bit 'political'...
...will you?
