By Tony Deyal
Given the political differences between the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK), it would be easy to see them as totally apart. However, when it comes to politics and “poli-tricks,” they are like two peas in a pod. This is why, as I follow the developments in the US and the Caribbean, where several countries will soon have their general elections, I will start with the great Sir Winston Churchill.
He was a British statesman and military officer who was prime minister during the last five years of the Second World War (1940 – 1945), and then again in 1951 to 1955. I was born when they packed him up for the first time. Fortunately, I had learnt to read about two years before he returned to lead his country for the second time. In those days, one or two people might have newspapers which they shared with the whole village. A few rich folks also bought and listened to the BBC through “Everest Radio” and “Rokit Radio Network.” A family female member taught me to read and then made me follow the news. This is how I became an early Churchill fan. Even though he died in 1965 at the age of 90, I still read and like his comments as “the Greatest Britain” even though there are still many Brits who see him as either “hero” or “villain.”
“A politician needs the ability to foretell what is going to happen tomorrow, next week, next month and next year. And to have the ability afterwards to explain why it didn’t happen.” This was Sir Winston at his best. For those people who were worried about where things were going, he advised, “If you’re going through hell, keep going.” A US colleague shared this with me.
Another one from Sir Winston, which I found interesting and truthful was: “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” Of course, not many of today’s politicians give anything but more problems and less money or support. Unfortunately, most of them were far too busy making money to ever consider what Sir Winston said about meeting and speaking with ordinary people. He believed that the best argument against democracy was a five-minute conversation with the average voter. As he put it, “Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” He was convinced: “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” And, as we now head into the US for the rest of this article, this is the starting point by Sir Winston: “You can always count on Americans to do the right thing- after they’ve tried everything else.”
It is like what John F. Kennedy said about mothers: “All want their sons to grow up to be president, but they don’t want them to become politicians in the process.” Even so, after two years as president, and the first Roman Catholic and, at 43 years, the youngest ever president, he was assassinated in 1963. I can imagine how his mother felt. Despite this, and the murder of the 16th president, Abraham Lincoln, who served from 1868 until he was murdered in 1865, Americans continued to feel that Lincoln was right to think that “The ballot is stronger than the bullet.”
At least, the murderers did not reach as far back as Aesop the Greek storyteller who quipped, “We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office.” Worse than that is what Marion Barry, who served four terms as the Mayor of Washington, said: “Outside of the killings, Washington has one of the lowest crime rates in the country.” Like Napoleon Bonaparte who many, many, years before had made it clear, “In politics, stupidity is not a handicap.” Perhaps this is what Harry S. Truman, the 33rd president who assumed the presidency when Roosevelt died, and who did not shrink the hard decisions said: “If you can’t convince them, confuse them.”
Over the years, I spent a lot of time in the US. First, I studied Message Design at Stanford University. Then I was a Hubert Humphrey (Fulbright) Fellow in Boston University, and afterwards, I was very much at home in Washington, DC I spent time with the World Bank, the Pan American Health Organisation, and then a few other people and places where I learnt how to get along with the dealers and deliverers. This is when I learnt that politics in the US is, for the most part, the gentle art of getting votes from the poor and campaign funds from the rich and then promising to protect each group from the other.
Another way to put it was by Thomas Jefferson, the 3rd president (1801 – 1809). To me and many others, he was the great predictor of all time. In addition to his view that a strong central government could lead to tyranny (and many people seem to think that it is still happening), he has never proven wrong when he said, “I predict future happiness for Americans, if they can prevent the country from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.”
However, that never goes either far or wide. There is a story that a worldwide survey was conducted by the UN. The only question asked was: “Would you please give your honest opinion about solutions to the food shortage in the rest of the world?” The survey was a huge failure.
In Africa, they didn’t know what “food” meant. In Eastern Europe, they didn’t know what “honest” meant. In Western Europe, they didn’t know what “shortage” meant. In China, they didn’t know what “opinion” meant. In the Middle East, they didn’t know what “solution” meant. In South America, they didn’t know what “please” meant. And in the US, they didn’t know what “the rest of the world” meant.
While this, and a lot of comments and jokes about the US are not fair or, most times, true, there are some learning curves from some of the humourists and others. One of the greats of all time, Groucho Marx, the comedian, once said, “The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. Fake that and you’ve got it made.” In that context, he may or may not have been the first person to come up with, “Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and apply the wrong remedies.” In a way, this alone tells you something about politics and “poli-tricks.”
As Len Deighton, the author of The Ipcress File, was certain: “In Mexico an air conditioner is called a politician because it makes a lot of noise but doesn’t work very well.” In other words, ending as I started from outside the US (and as part Irish myself), the great George Bernard Shaw put it bluntly, “He knows nothing and thinks he knows everything. That points clearly to a political career.”
*Tony Deyal believes what Ronald Reagan said, “Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed there are many rewards, if you disgrace yourself, you can always write a book.” Or, like me, a column.
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