"...everything has always been the same, and keeps recurring, and it makes no difference whether you see the same things recur in a hundred years or two hundred, or in an infinite period." ~ Marcus Aurelius
Corrupt politicians and ideological battles have existed for centuries. But fortunately, as long as there have been politicians, there have also been philosophers, who have provided a much needed counterbalance.
In fact, today, we have unprecedented access to more than 2500 years of wisdom, from which we can draw peace and assurance that everything is exactly as it should be. The past two and a half millennia also provide just as many reasons not to stress about politics.
Don't Worry About Things You Can't Control
The Stoics taught a powerful lesson for living a better life with a philosophy that can be boiled down to one simple question: Is it in your control? If the answer is “No,” don’t worry because you can’t control the outcome anyway. If the answer is “Yes,” don’t worry because you can control the outcome.
In different words, the Stoics didn’t worry about external events. The only thing that matters is your own character (virtue) and how you handle things that you experience. If life is 10 percent of what happens to you and 90 percent of how you react, it's important to focus on the 90 percent.
Plato and Politics
About 2500 years ago, Plato had the opportunity to serve in politics but believed he could serve the greater good as a philosopher. In his book, Republic, he taught that conflicting interests can be harmonized to form a greater society. But this republic would never become a reality because philosophers would never rule (well, except for Marcus Aurelius, who would rule Rome from 161 to 180).
Plato lost faith in politicians after his mentor, Socrates, was unjustly put to death for "corrupting the youth of Athens," by teaching them to resist the Athenian Aristocracy and think for themselves.
Here are some of Plato's greatest contributions, related to politics:
There will be no end to the troubles of states, or of humanity itself, till philosophers become kings in this world, or till those we now call kings and rulers really and truly become philosophers, and political power and philosophy thus come into the same hands.
Democracy is a charming form of government, full of variety and disorder, and dispensing a sort of equality to equals and unequal alike.
One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.
Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws.
Does any of the above sound familiar? Knowing that philosophers had similar observations and complaints about politics 2500 years ago, do you feel depressed and hopeless about the state of the world now, or do you now feel indifferent, as the Stoics did a few centuries after Plato?
Don't Worry, Be Rational
Humans have a bad habit of thinking irrational thoughts. Some of us are more irrational than others. Here's one of many common, irrational thoughts:
It’s incredibly difficult to find solutions to most human problems and if the ideal solution is not found, the results will be devastating.
Sometimes the best solution to this irrational thought is time. While you wait for time to pass, you can look back on history. Did all the terrible things you imagined politicians would do come true? If so, what impact did their decisions have directly on you? Have any of your best or worst moments in life been a result of a politician's actions? Have politicians had a "devastating" impact on your life?
If you think that the world is getting worse and you feel a sense of hopelessness, just talk to someone who has lived longer than you or perhaps read some old books. You will then find confidence, composure, and peace knowing that things are not as bad as they appear. In fact, they are natural.
Bottom Line
Humans often see conflicts where there often isn't any. There are many different perspectives but we are all part of one universal whole. What appears to be conflict is part of what nature intended. Chaos is a part of order; separation can be a part of unity. Even the political banter that we've seen lately is part of a natural course of human life. It's been going on for thousands of years. We've just summarized about 2500 of them.
Focus on what you can control, accept what you can't, and you will live a better life.
Kent Thune is a philosopher who happens to be a wealth manager and a Certified Financial Planner (TM). Serving clients all around the U.S., Kent is owner of Atlantic Capital Investments, LLC, a registered investment advisory firm located in Hilton Head Island, SC. Kent is also a freelance writer and his works have been published on multiple investing websites, including MarketWatch, Yahoo Finance, Kiplinger.com, InvestorPlace.com, and The Motley Fool.
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