The art of the salesman

We sometimes snub “normal people,” some of whom are friends, who get involved in politics. “Look at what X is doing to get elected, he even went to a religious procession,” comments the traditional snob of the group. Another is annoyed because a candidate for Parliament is a constant presence on various local television channels that are not consistent with his own aesthetics.

I confess, I don’t exactly know what all those who are content to watch the hellfire of politics from an elevated, and apparently safe pulpit want. I assume they might prefer candidates who eat sushi and feel comfortable in a sheltered bubble.

Every time I hear them I remember the story of an ancestor of mine who really wanted to become an MP. When his constituents visited him asking for special favors, his wife begged him to come out of his office and meet them. But he insisted that he wanted “only select votes.” He never got them; voters left his office angry and he was left with the elite who never achieved their date with history.

So, I personally fully respect the “normal people” who get involved in politics these days, because it takes courage, sometimes audacity, and requires hitting the pavement. This was, is and always will be the art of politics. As much as television and social media have changed it, it remains the art of the salesman.

The hard part is finding a balance between your principles and values and the demands of the job. If you lose your “soul,” if you become a piece of dough that is eaten by hundreds of “fish,” then, yes, you stop being a “normal person” and become a political machine that cares about nothing but a cross next to his/her name on the ballot paper and generally cares only about him/herself. 

Balance is difficult. I have seen highly qualified people in various fields mutate into something unrecognizable when they got involved with politics. They really made you wonder, “But is this the person I knew?” But I have also seen those who took the plunge, entered the fire of politics, hit the pavement, but never forgot that they entered politics to change things.

This is the kind of people we need to come out into the farmers’ markets and shout “I am X and I want your vote!”