(English translation of a poem I originally wrote in Dutch). The 100% honest politician. Who is always honest. Who always tells the full and honest story. Who doesn’t distract his people from anything unimportant, but who puts the focus on that what really matters. Who doesn’t conjure with numbers, but limits himself to th the numbers that are really vital. And who also tells the true story behind these numbers. Who dares to put the national interest and the interest of his people above his own and that of nasty lobbyists.

Who doesn’t scare his people needlessly, regardless how great the threat for the nation may be, but who keeps the people calm. But who doesn’t spread false calmness either, and how is honest about the threat.

Can he exist? And if he exists, can he attain power? No matter if you live in a dictatorship or a democracy, no mortal being is powerful. All a mortal can do is use the power others give to him.

The that the 100% honest politician will rise to power, will be the same days that wars will belong to the past. The day that “racism”, “homophobia”, “sexism”, “antisemitism” any all other words directing to any form of discrimination will be nothing more but the professional yargon, historians need to give the horrors of the past a name.

This requires a population that is wise. Who can think for itself. That doesn’t trust blindly that the authorities are able to solve all problems there may be.

This requires a population who has self reflection. That understand nobody can know everything. That understands that everybody makes mistakes. A population in which everybody is aware of his own role in society and the responsibilities coming along with it. A population in which people can look further than the size of their own nose, enabling them to think about the short term and long term consequences of their own actions.

When every human being is one who:

• Thinks about his or her own opinion

• Accepts that you can something not have the right opinion, because you know to little, and when you know more, it can mean that you have to revise your own opinion.

• doesn’t see those who think differently as a threat, but as a way to remain sharp and to see that you may have been wrong all along.

• Who understands that only by multiple insights you can come to a solution, but who also understand a decision has to be made at the end. A decision  that does not always make you happy, but of which people understand it has to be made to prevent stagnation

The most important requirement may be that nobody takes anything at all for granted.

Only when everybody is wise, and honest...

Only then a 100% honest politician who always acts honorably and who reigns with conscience can attain power, and remain in power, and only then there will be a chance he can be succeeded by another honest politician.

The 100% honest politician can only come,
when the people deserve one.

#politics #thinkforyourself #selfreflect