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In 1992, American artist Zoe Leonard wrote the poem “I want a president”, because she was so frustrated with politics. All the presidents that the United States had had at this point in 1992 were rich, privileged white men, most of whom never had to endure big struggles in their lives. They never had to fight for their basic rights to exist, to live and to be represented in politics. Her poem wants to provoke you to think about who should be a politician. And she thinks that a peaceful society is one with a different kind of president.
Watch her poem being read by artist Mykki Blanco.
Video credits: Dazed, published on Oct 4, 2016
What experiences do we usually expect politicians to have? How are they different from the ones that the poem demands (e.g. someone who has made mistakes and learned from them, someone who has been unemployed or deported)?
How would society change if people with less privileges were in power?
Would a person who has had to fight for their human rights be better at providing human rights?
Share your thoughts below.
There are many more social and political topics around peace that we didn’t mention here. Below you can find some videos, books and films that we recommend if you want to dive deeper into this level of peace. Also this list is far from complete, but we wanted to give you some hints!
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It’s the ideal man, a fake representation of perfection, that we tend to vote for, admire and admire stereotypically for reasons that spread from education, background, upbringing, history, stats to religion, power schemes and marketing.
Hopefully things are changing though slowly; yet, we have but little time.
Я думаю что наши политики мало что извлекут и будут делать все в своих интересах.
We expect our politicians to learn from previous politicians’ mistakes and think about the world without injustice. Society will change with the real system and social justice. The one who provides human rights is the one who creates the notion of fighting for human rights.
Our/my expectations for those who aspire for political office are always high, and in my view one who ascends to power must not be there to enrich oneself but endeavour to meet the needs of the people who make him be at the helm of power
Nice, but even if you choose somebody like this, after being elected it is very probable that s/he changes side (see ‘Animals Farm’). Better we find a system with power rotation or easier possibility to deselect.
Usually our/my expectations from any person that seeks public office is the fulfillment of human needs which ranges from equal opportunities for all and an enabling environment that promotes human rights and human development