Dear BP,
Over the years, I have watched otherwise spectacular political careers crash and burn because of overreach or stupidity. This theme is so often repeated that I sometimes wonder if the acquisition of political office by something triggers a reckless impulse to undo with one ill-considered statement leak or video, years of hard work and sacrifice.
What causes this malady? What if a person’s environment causes them to become deaf to considered, well-meaning advice and plough on to the inevitable political train wreck? The answer, my friends, is not in the stars. It’s in the people they seek advice from—that tight clique of friends, family, and hangers-on who isolate some of our politicians from reality and continuously whisper self-serving, divisive, destructive nonsense in their ears.
It’s hardly ever the sage advice of their constituents, party leaders or well-wishers who get sidelined soon after the election win. These so-called confidants and advisers have absolutely nothing to lose. They benefit when the politician is in office and even more when they achieve higher office. If allowed to control a politician’s actions, these closed, almost impenetrable echo chambers almost always lead to disaster. These groups create political gods who have achieved everything independently; no one assisted them. It’s all about them.
Indeed, this lack of outside informational stimuli fosters a sense of ingratitude common in many Bahamian politicians. Since ingratitude is among the worst political sins, some politicians are in trouble and don’t even know it.
This lack of gratitude among politicians is not new; It has plagued them for years. Philosophers have written tomes on it over the centuries.
For Epictetus, gratitude is also a way to avoid resentment and dissatisfaction. He asks us to imagine life as a banquet. The unhappy person looks jealously at other plates or is angry that they are served last. They feel entitled to food, and their ego is so inflated that they are due the most excellent portions. But Epictetus tells us to wait our turn and to be thankful for whatever our host provides because it’s more than we had before.
Sincerely,
Michael J. Brown
