Things to Consider Before Supporting a Politician & Distortion Techniques to Look Out For

Reflection & Research

Decide what values you want to be mirrored

What issues do you care about? What is the position you take with how you want said issues to be handled? What way of thinking do you want to see reflected in someone who is influencing how your country and its law are governed? You need to reflect on what your values are; in order to support someone with the same values. Think about community, national and international issues you want to be addressed.

These include:

• Commitment to inclusion - addressing islamophobia, xenophobia, homophobia, racism, and outright addressing the discrimination against parties of any kind.
• Promotion and protection of human rights - addressing support of the Human Rights Act.
• Funding for social care - assessing the funding model that addresses and can be improved to better address rights, inclusion, the voice of the people, and poverty.
• Poverty - assessing the application of the Benefits System and the steps to take to address the poverty the disabled and carers disproportionately live in within the country and steps to take to address the poverty of people within and outside of the country.
• Climate change & sustainable aid - addressing the crucial changes to be made to conserve energy, reduce waste, and all-around take steps to a more sustainable means of production and lifestyle that ensures a cleaner and more secure future.
• Healthcare - addressing healthcare accommodation and access related issues, plans to make it more accessible to people, and updated to ongoing technological advancements

Take a look at their character, record & experience

Start putting together a background check of information on them as you go about your research and see if you can draw conclusions about their stance on specific issues and if they contradicted anything they’ve said over the course of their career. It’s key to not only learn about them as a politician but learn about them as a character to trust will reflect your views and the wellbeing of people around you.

Take a look at their experience and education. How well versed are they with dealing with matters and what is their history within the frame of law and politics?

Observe how they behave and treat others. From press conferences to interviews to court to media streams of any kind - how do they present themselves? How do they react and speak to people they are questioning or being questioned by? Does their reputation of being characteristic A and B mirror how they compose themselves in real-time?

Find out who and what do they support - the party and associations they fall into

This is crucial to pinpointing any inconsistencies or underlying standpoints a politician may have on different issues. For example, you might be confident in your support of a politician from the praise several news outlets narrate and credit to them, but then find out that they support the war crimes of another country or support a person or governmental body that mistreats a party of society. And you think to yourself, well that doesn’t make sense, they were against issue B so why are they supporting this? Well, that’s exactly a result of what? Not doing your research. Because as polished as a politician’s reputation can be, you’re going in circles if you don’t find out what, and who they support. These are tell-tales to how they think and the structure of action they would play a part in.

Another misconception is that when a politician either claims or seems to have right or left-wing beliefs or identify as a democrat or republican, it means they are what you call ‘all the way in’ or far-left or far-right winged. Meaning a politician who says they’re a proud democrat may showcase left-wing views on issues in their situated country, but that doesn’t automatically mean they are not against wanting a war or violence against another country. Do you see where I’m getting at here? This is why it’s important to assess their position in a multitude of issues and areas so that you are not only confident that they support the views and actions you want to be reflected, but that you don’t ‘accidentally’ end up dumbfounded and at a loss.

Evaluate their use and manipulation of the media

The internet is both our greatest ally in information and yet also a tool used to spread false information and narratives to either fix an intended perception into your head or steer you away from paying attention or being informed of certain information.

Politicians are aware of the influence this has and try using it to their advantage, meaning things in recorded scenarios may be staged by media advisors. It’s important to focus on what said politician is actively doing and saying rather than what ‘appears to the eye’. Double-check every ‘fact’ they mention. Pay attention to how and if they follow through with actions to support what they say. If they have social media platforms - which in this day and age, most do - what do they use it for? Which movements and target issues do they address? Be wary of bias and scrutinize their consistency in all your research.

Distortion Techniques used to look out for: seeing through the act

Now you must have heard a remark or two about politicians being the ‘greatest of liars’. Why do you think that is? The language figures in a position of power and or authority of any industry or ultimatum are both trained and adapt to language techniques that advance their intended message to the selected audience and or party. Techniques used to ‘distort’ meaning and or perception of what is said or whom it is being said to are referred to as ‘distortion techniques’ and it is the ability to pick up on seeing through them that you can begin to get a clearer idea of what is for show and gain, and what is genuine.

( Definitions credited to Voter’s Edge California, a partnership between the League of Women Voters of California Education Fund’s Smart Voter and Maplight):

Common distortion techniques:

• Name-calling/Appeals to prejudice:

These are attacks on someone based on characteristics that will not affect performance in office or credibility of what they are saying or presenting. These include references to the person’s race, ethnicity, or marital status that can be subtly used to instill prejudice.

• Rumor mongering:

These include statements such as, "Everyone says person A is a criminal, but I have no knowledge of any wrongdoing done," which imply (but do not explicitly state) that the person is guilty.

• Guilt by association:

These are statements such as, "We all know person B is backed by big money interest," that attack someone because of their support rather than because of their stance on the issue.

• Catchwords:

These are phrases such as "Law and Order" or "un-American" that are designed to trigger a knee-jerk emotional reaction rather than to inform.

• Passing the blame:

These are instances in which responsibility for an action is denied or blamed on someone else for things over which he/she/they had no control over.

• Promising the sky:

These are unrealistic promises that no official could fulfill but are solely said to appear a certain way and or encourage a target perception of them.

• Evading real issues:

These include instances in where answering direct questions are avoided, and only vague solutions or talks about the benefits of proposed programs are offered with no specification about possible problems or costs.

With all that in mind…

Understand that politics is not a ‘trend’ and neither are movements that primarily handle sensitive and issues. You or someone you know have probably experienced a situation where someone blindly praises or crushes down a politician at the rise of everyone else doing so - not because they care and want to spread awareness and or action on the movement, but just to look ‘woke’ in the face of cancel culture and ‘appearing relevant’. That misconstrued use of the weapon the media gives us is another thing those looking to deceive and segregate society wants from us - to blindly fall into sheep after sheep following cycle after the other; along as that means we do not question what is being told to us and avoid doing our own research and pursue our own education on the matter.

‘Not being political’ isn’t ‘cool’ and doesn’t make you ‘neutral’ either. News flash - there is no such thing as being ‘neutral’ when people all over the world are actively suffering under the hands of governmental bodies that either neglect or enforce discriminatory acts. There is no such ‘neutral’ to take when people are suffering at the hands of broken justice systems, discriminatory socially-constructed norms within the law and amongst people themselves, and countless lack of basic necessities because those in power have decided war is more important than them.

Caring, educating yourself on, and educating others about political matters and what’s going on in the world is not a ‘privilege’; it is a fundamental basis to progress alongside those around us to a more sustainable, fair, and accepting society regardless of where you are in the world, where you come from or what you orient or identify as. Research before you preach. Research before you speak. And most of all, reflect on where you want to be headed; because you have more power with who you support and what you say than you realize - which is why they try so hard to limit and control how you use it.