Politics has been, and still is, very influential when it comes to all the communities and governments that exist in our world. The things that politicians do, the decisions they make, what we think of them; these are all things that are affected by politics which significantly contribute to the changes made in our environment. And when we want to ‘change’ our environment, we expect it to improve, don’t we?
And then there’s the long unanswered question: is human behaviour nature or nurture? Is it ‘written’ in our genes, or is it only influenced by external factors? Both answers aren’t really grounded as of now, with the plethora of arguments supporting one side and rejecting the other. Then again, politics is quite a huge, open-ended topic, extending over several areas of concepts and ideas; making it difficult to define ‘politics’ itself. When linking it with the question of nature and nurture, it’s pretty big to think about. And still, it’s almost mandatory to consider this since, especially when you have our current government; they play a significant part in leading our countries of origin, and like I said before, we want the best. Because of this, we want to know how their decisions are influenced; whether it may be right or wrong. That’s why we should answer this vital question: Is politics nature, or nurture? Many people have different opinions, of course. There is a definitive answer on the internet, I must mention. But before we investigate that, let’s see what our interviewees had to say about this. Interestingly, two of them had the conclusion that politics was influenced by both nature and nurture. One of my interviewees was more grounded on the opinion that the notion of politics was based on nurture rather than nature. She says: “I think that it is nurture because when it comes nature, it’s either they have this interest, or they simply don’t. It’s nurture because, I believe that people are influenced by the core values their parents/and environments have taught them, the environment they’re exposed to and the things they’re taught since it directly affects their beliefs and opinions. These are the things that nurture the potential interest of politics in a person. I do believe that a bit of it comes from nature but the only quality coming from that would be intrinsic motivation to thrive in this field and make a positive impact to their environment or people.” It’s easy to see that the main reason for considering politics as nurture, as the saying goes, you are what you see… This is simply a summary for what she has spoken of about nurture, which is my opinion about this as well. Even when she considers nature, she says that it would only be the ‘motivation’ that pushes people to tread on a path of politics. Conversely, the rest of the two of my interviewees proclaimed that the notion of politics was rather caused by both nature and nurture. In fact, this is the ‘true’ answer that you’d find on any sources from the internet. Let’s see what my second interviewee had to say… I would say it’s both. Humans live in society, starting from their homes. Children in their early years already start to have such ideas, either about leading or following politics. At about the age of seven, they start to make agreements regarding rules with their family. This is why I think it’s in our genes already. If their environment is supportive, and has enough resources, their interest in this field is fulfilled and they develop skills that further this interest, for example, joining student council, etc. You would eventually find them representing a community as they grow. If we don’t provide such an open environment to people who have an interest, they would never have the opportunity to be politically engaged. Because of these reasons, I think it’s both. She clearly explains here how both nature and nurture equally contribute to developing political skills and opinions during a person’s lifetime. But there’s still more to her response though, after further questioning: I would say for me that the environment might actually, either push you back or influence you forward. Being a politician, it’s impossible to be alone, you need a group and make concessions to match them. It is hard to have this harmony within a group. Human beings are already politicians; you are a politician from your early years. Because you live in a society, so you have those kinds of tendencies to take decisions or follow them. But if we look at the environment, if it’s not appropriate, then it’s not possible. Here she leans more towards how politics is more nurture when it comes to the ‘real deal’ and explains how people can influential when it comes to this. We’ll see more of this later… until then, let’s hear what my last interviewee also had to say about this: I would say that, if you don’t have knowledge about a certain thing or topic then it’s very much influenced by a community. But if you do have knowledge then you can influence others. So, it depends on the situation… If I don’t know something about a topic, then I’d be influenced by you but if I do know about it and you don’t then you’d be influenced by me. The way you’re taking this influence, that’s your nature, your perspective on something. When a child is born, they would not have a political view. It also depends on what their ‘openness’ is, how open and conscious are they about the topic. Then, they’d allow another person to influence them. In this case, a young person would be influenced based on their surroundings or how open they are to things. So… it would rather be nurture than nature. This was her answer when I had asked about political behaviour in the public; and as you can see it leans more into nurture. In contrast, when considering her opinion about political opinions: Nature. Definitely nature. Because, according to a study, some German scientists took twins with opposite personalities and checked how politically driven they’d be. One of the twins was more open and the other one had more of a closed, shut-in personality. Those who are more open, they talk more openly about politics. But then again, politics is a very controversial topic, very extremist. So, in this case, I would say it’s nature. Interestingly, her conclusion was that: Nature and Nurture are pretty much interlinked because what you’re born with is your basic nature and people nurture it, and then it becomes your ‘grown-up’, ‘mature’ nature. It’s now obvious to see why people consider politics to be both nature and nurture because the various above reasons. Nurture would be the main influencer to shape and grow such political ideas and opinions while nature would instil the foundation for this interest. They are interlinked as such, both significantly contributing to the whole notion of politics; in any way you might consider it. As I mentioned before, this is the ‘internet’ answer you’d get as well if you researched this argument. It’s both nature and nurture! But we’re not done here just yet! As a little, curious experiment, I asked my interviewees about what they think about themselves too. Their final opinion about this topic, do they think it’s nature or nurture? It was nonetheless compelling to hear their responses as they took several moments to reflect upon themselves! I think it’s mainly nurture (of what I know) since, of course, everything I’ve known so far is basically what I’ve seen and what I’ve been taught, especially considering how I’ve been told not to go deep into politics as it can be quite a rough game! You can see that this is a straightforward answer from my first interviewee, one that would be mine as well! It is what you know that influences you, doesn’t it? See, me, I used to be a very political person when I was young. But when I started to grow, I realised that sometimes it was better to step out from these conflicts. Because, nowadays, politics in general, have these polarities which are extreme. It’s very difficult to remain neutral. The main takeaway is that, if I wanted to express my personal thoughts about changes, I would mostly be restrained from implementing these ideas. This didn’t really reflect on me as an individual, so I decided to make my own politics in my world, if you understand what I mean. I know what I have to do as an individual in this society. I know how I contribute; I believe in what I believe in so my principles won’t change, regarding the good deeds and things that I must do. I would say for me that the environment might actually, either push you back or influence you forward. It is hard to have this harmony within a political group. The second interviewee, again, leans more towards the whole political aspect of nurture, expressing the fact that it is the environment that influences her. And still, she refuses to be influenced, which is a good argument to point out as well. This suggests how nurture cannot be the complete influencer of politics because of the ideals people have, either partially or completely restricting them from influences. And, as for my final interviewee… It would be nature. Because, firstly, I’m very ignorant of politics, so I’ve only recently been aware about this. So, when something explains this concept to me, I tend to easily listen to their opinion but then, I also study and research for extra consideration. Then again, it’s more nurture than nature which eventually becomes nature as we grow up with more experiences and our own ideas. Two of the interviewees are with the conclusion that they are influenced by nurture rather than nature when it comes to politics, which is again quite straightforward to think about. It would be hard to consider nature unless you get the opportunity to do a genetic test, of which plenty exist. When you consider your perspectives about different things, the first thing that comes to your mind is what you’ve seen, what you’ve heard, and what you’ve known. That’s what I’d say, that’s what you’d say. Nevertheless, it is not the big picture we should be looking at. When we come back to the overall prospect of politics, the conclusion is that the idea itself and the opinions about it are influenced by both nature and nurture, even if people say that they’re most likely or more affected by nurture. Most likely is the word here. There is still a root in our DNA that either directly influences our interest in the field of the conquest of power or influences the factors that directly affect our interest. As our interests or disinterests stem from here, it’s the power of nurture that shapes this into something bigger that helps us make a change. This may be the answer. For now. As technology involves, as we grow smarter, the answer may very well change as the debate goes on throughout the proceeding decades. As for politics, I don’t think it will change or disappear anytime soon. Your journalist, Tarunikaa, signing off! Written by Tarunikaa M.
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