The personal versus the political

Birkarnelzelzit Thiyam *

I know the topic speaks nothing but the current situation of politics as we see here today makes this relevant. Some say, personal and political should be kept separated, some say if you think politics is a job then you are the monster. Well ! With all these humongous debates and perspectives, I am also confused if I should keep my personal feelings away from politics or not.

Breaking in - I have been hearing this slogan since the time I understood English: “The personal is political.” Before I go on further, I will like to let you all know how this slogan came into existence.

"The personal is political" was a frequently-heard feminist rallying cry, especially during the late 1960s and 1970s. The exact origin of the phrase is unknown and sometimes debated. Many second-wave feminists used the phrase "the personal is political" or its underlying meaning in their writing, speeches, consciousness-raising, and other activities.

The meaning has sometimes been interpreted to mean that political and personal issues affect each other. It has also meant that the experience of women is the grounding of feminism, both personal and political.

Some have seen it as a kind of practical model for creating feminist theory: begin with the small issues with which you have personal experience, and move from there to the larger systemic issues and dynamics which may explain and/or address those personal dynamics.

On the other side, some have also critiqued the focus on "the personal is political" because, they say, it has meant a focus more exclusively on personal issues such as family division of labor, and has ignored systemic sexism and political problems and solutions.

Again, looking deeper nuance by nuance, I guess - a generalized personal is something what we call politics. Or a bigger accepted YES or the game of majority. Knowing the fact that people keep advising those in parties to not bring their personal agendas on the table but never stops from complaining to the Government about their personal problems.

Why do some people blame the political system for the problems in their lives ? We explore the origins of these grievances and how people assign responsibility and blame for the challenges they face. We propose that individual differences in the personality traits of locus of control and self-esteem help explain why some blame the political system for their personal problems.

Using responses from a module of the 2016 Cooperative Congressional Election Study, we saw that those with low self-esteem and a weaker sense of control over their fates are more likely to blame the political system for the challenges they face in their lives.

We also demonstrate that this assignment of blame is politically consequential, where those who intertwine the personal and the political are more likely to evaluate elected officials based on pocketbook economic conditions rather than sociotropic considerations.

I know this is so much of perceptual throws, I will leave the ball in the court of the dear readers. Recently, I have been up with the news and the fights and the beat-ups. With all this, I am on no side but with the truth.

As a public, we would like to see great politics happening. So, tell me what do you think, readers ? How should this personal and politics should be kept separated ? If can then how and can’t then why ? Or are they something that’s meant to stay together ?