Politics

Politics is always the discussion topic during lunch. Most everyone here has a favorable opinion about Obama, but it's not at all blind admiration simply because he is African. Malawians take politics very seriously (far more seriously than myself) and they want a competent, knowledgeable president in the White House just as much as we do. However, there are a few things that I think Africans notice more easily than Americans regarding the ethos of politics. Last night I was talking with Mr. Mziska about it and he expressed his admiration for Obama after his acceptance speech. He had printed it out for us and we read over it for some time. Mr. Mziska said that he was impressed by Sen. Obama's remarks about his opponents, particularly Hillary Clinton. "He is very gracious and a very eloquent speaker. Clinton, not so much." This was a very refreshing thing for me to hear, because in America we seem to pass off things like the communication style and ethos of a candidate as red herrings obstructing the more important points such as his (or her!) policy and qualifications, as if rhetoric and people skills have nothing to do with it.

In Malawi, the importance of propriety and graciousness in one's speech is very much alive and important to social life. I can't help but agree adamantly with this perspective. Seeing politics as just a machine, and politicians as mechanisms to enact policy, while partly true, leaves out the simple fact that governments are run by human beings at the end of the day. People react to speeches. Words have power, and a president needs to know how to use them to unify people. Sure policy is important, but we shouldn't act like words aren't. Take Bush's foreign policy for example. Remember the whole "Axis of Evil" stuff and the "we are fighting against evil and you're with us or against us" speeches? That sent waves throughout the world. I remember having conversations on planes with foreigners who were affected and deeply suspicious of our country's motives.

To think that words and real events are not linked together is a foolish idea indeed and to think that people who pay too much attention to the surface level stuff, the speeches, the personalities of the candidates, the publicity, do not really understand politics is all kinds of arrogant. That stuff actually matters. I can get so tired of people treating politics as if it is some kind of deep knowledge, completely inaccessible to the common man (or woman!). Everyone's gotta be an expert. It's like we have to be political scientists nowadays to vote responsibly, employing deeply critical thought to every policy and decision the candidate proposes to make, predicting the outcomes of each candidate's policies as if it is some sort of algebraic equation. Then those who say they voted for a candidate because he (or she!) "felt trustworthy" or "is well spoken" are treated if they're some kind of plebeian dunce. Social interaction matters. Words can rally people or divide them, and a someone's personality does not just go away just because that person has taken public office. It's kind of cool that Malawi is such a small country, because everyone talks about their politicians with some sense of familiarity whether they have met them or not. In many cases, they literally live right down the street and hail from common area districts. People know people here and value character very highly.

Honestly, all of these discussions have made me more interested in politics than ever before. Perhaps it is more than just a structure that I am forced to live under. Maybe humanity does have some power to shine through the cracks of the altogether inaccessible legal system. Yesterday I was asked (for the thousandth time) who I would support in the coming election, after I had given a little cheer after discovering that Obama had all but won the candidacy. I told them that I wasn't exactly an Obama supporter, but that I didn't really support anyone else either. "Aaahh, he is a philosophy major!" They all laughed. Then Zik spoke up.

Zik is probably the funniest guy in the office and an arresting speaker. He is handsome and looks a bit like a young Don Cheadle. He always injects passionately religious zeal into his discussions about...really anything, and it's always really funny to listen to. It's kind of a running joke with him to bombastically relate whatever topic is being discussed with a Bible passage as if it has complete allegorical relevance to the subject at hand. There is a knowing glint in his eye every time he does it. He's a skilled jokester. He will assume an authoritative posture and speak as if from a pulpit, gapping his words appropriately for maximum profundity. After expressing how indecisive I was regarding politics, he half-closed his eyes, raised his finger and said,

"Ah, but you must choose! When you are on Mount Carmel..." At that point we all cracked up.
"So who is Baal?" I retorted.
"Ah, it is you who must decide!"

Zik always pretends to have monopolized the final word in an argument by bringing the Bible into the discussion, obviously the highest authority against which no one dare argue. The funny thing is that although Zik maintains a humorous air, he is very perceptive, and there are times when his biblical allegories can lend much insight to the conversation which tends to keep everyone a bit off balance. Is he joking or not? Gibson usually takes it upon himself to establish whether or not Zik's kidding. "That is joking, that is joking" he will say to no one in particular while Zik carries on. Just talking here is really fun. It's like a little event. I can't wait for lunch.