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I know the people who say this mean well, but "our job is not winning elections" is a very bad road to go down on.
In a democracy, the only job in politics is to win elections. Winning isn't everything, it is the only thing.
In a democracy, the only job in politics is to win elections. Winning isn't everything, it is the only thing.
Here's a story. If you follow Korean news, you might have heard about the Sewol Ferry disaster - 300 HS children drowning a capsized boat, broadcast live while the rescue attempt was incompetent while the president was missing. The event that broke Park Geun-hye's presidency.
Fearing the Sewol disaster would evolve into a political movement, the PGH admin began demonizing the parents who lost their children in the disaster. It was the most appalling thing in politics I have ever seen my life, making enemies out of parents who saw their children drown.
The parents organized. They petitioned, they held media events, they held hunger strikes. They raged on social media. As one might expect parents who lost their children would do.
But what they did after doing all those things was unexpected:
But what they did after doing all those things was unexpected:
They put on a costume and danced on the street - to campaign for Park Joo-min, the lawyer who was representing the Sewol families, who were running to be elected as a legislator. Park won in the 2016 election, which formed the legislature that impeached Park Geun-hye.
You can watch a brief video of their campaign to elect Park Joo-min: three fathers who saw their children perish, putting on a smiley character costume and dancing, BEGGING, in the streets to earn votes.
Think about what they must have been thinking.
Think about what they must have been thinking.
I have children. Just imagining something bad happening to them paralyzes me. These parents saw their children die on live television - and their response was to dance on the streets with a smiley mask on.
Are we desperate enough to do that? To win elections?
Are we desperate enough to do that? To win elections?
Ultimately, in a democracy, winning elections is the only thing. You win first, then worry about policies. No one would have blamed the Sewol parents if they turned cynical and focused solely on their loss. But they chose to win elections instead. Be like them.
