Political Apathy Doesn't Make You An Enlightened Martial Artist
Breaking Apart the Archetype of the Apolitical Martial Artist: You're Not That Cool Bro
If you’re running a business (and that includes a dojo), don’t let your customers know your political leanings. This is Business 101. Some people will support you specifically because of your politics, but at least as many will avoid you for the same reason, while most of those people on both sides will still support you if they don’t know who you voted for.
I’m a terrible businessman, by the way.
For this article, I’m going to try my damnedest to not let my political leanings show. Anyone whose seen my social media should know where I stand. But this article is not about expressing my politics, and commenting below with your leanings misses the whole point entirely.
It’s about you, a martial artist, in the world of politics.
Politics have been rough the last 15 years. I grew up in the 80s and 90s, and heard all the political jokes of the time. Now, I look back and they all make more sense. But the last 15 years, in hindsight, feel different to me. It’s more serious now. As good or bad as the world has been, everything feels more polarized than it’s ever been. All the political theater feels so much more final to me.
It’s easy in this environment to give up and just say “I’m gonna stay out of politics. Nothing changes anyway.” People have said that throughout human history. I understand the frustration that can lead to that. I grew up with that frustration.
But the longer a martial artist says that, the sooner I call you a coward.
Apathy isn’t enlightenment. The martial arts are about a passion that only other artists can understand. When an artist does their thing, on the music stage, on the canvas, or in the dojo, you are establishing your beliefs. For martial artists: every belief you hold dear, about the importance of discipline, of the importance of learning to fight in the first place, the importance of protecting your family…it all gets put on the table, every time you hit the mat.
Every action you take in your art is shouting to the world “I’m here, and this is what I believe.” When a metal singer growls into the mic, they’re telling the world “I’m here, and this is what I believe.” When a karateka kiais, they’re shouting at their opponents, externally and internally, “I’m here, and I will win.”
As a martial artist, politics should be the same for you: shout, fight, get loud, let the world know you’re here, and let the world know what you believe in, because the traits that bring you to be honest with your public beliefs are the same traits that get you to black belt. No matter if it’s in office or in an internet debate, speak up and fight for what you believe in. If you don’t have that conviction, you might be missing the next step of your training. What is it all for, really?
“The world is getting more dangerous,” “kids aren’t learning like they used to,” “all cops are bastards,” “seniors don’t get respect,” “racism is inherent in the system.” If you ever complained about the state of the world, you’ve already entered politics. Stop telling yourself otherwise; stop complaining and do something about it, even if all you do is talk about it.
Why is talking important?
Because spoken ideas can spread like wildfire, even if you’re not a politician. If you train to fight, you have fuel for the fire that no one else does.
Can you participate in politics on the internet as a martial artist, being true to the inner character development the martial arts are supposed to give you? Damn straight you can. Don’t let anybody tell you otherwise.
I’ve seen the common responses. “If you really care, join a committee.” “Don’t argue with people on the internet, you won’t change their mind anyway and it’s a waste of time.”
First off, yes, if your heart is being pulled to join a political committee, do it. If you’re good at politics you can make an active effort to make a change by joining one.
Do you have to join a committee? No. A village of 100 people doesn’t need a committee with 100 members. Elected members organize things and get them rolling, but they represent you. By speaking up as a regular joe, you are immediately part of the committee called “society”. Speak the hell up when committee members are around and call your local representative. It’s their literal job to listen to you.
Make your voice heard.
“If you really cared you would join a committee, like I did” is virtue signaling based on the logical fallacy called a “false dilemma”. A single mother of four doesn’t have time to run for office or join a committee. But her words are as important…maybe more important…than the words of a comfortable nuclear family from the 1950s. Especially if she represents a growing demographic.
For you, as a martial artist, it’s the same. Your voice matters. The easy example would be speaking up for gaming laws to allow mma fights in your state. The grown-up example would be fighting for laws to match the positive things that martial arts are supposed to be teaching and that you hope to see in the next generation of fighters coming up under you: integrity and discipline in authentic/true education, equal chances for all to train and learn, the type of law enforcement that promotes a safe neighborhood for young fighters to grow up in and make it to adulthood without joining a gang or being shot by police…
As a fighter, you have particular traits others don’t that can make the world better through political discourse. Your words affect other voters with your unique voice.
How about that second reply I mentioned: “Don’t argue with people on the internet, you won’t change their mind anyway and it’s a waste of time.”
No. This is completely false and comes from the defeatist attitude of “nothing works so let’s give up.” When you see people misrepresenting your martial art, you have to speak up and say something. And yet, the world is bigger than your martial art.
As I mentioned here, humans have been communicating with written word, over great distances, for millennia. We’ve been doing the same with telephones for hardly a century and a half. Written communication has a much longer history.
If you can’t express your important beliefs with written words, that’s cool…everyone is more comfortable communicating their own way. But most people who write-off internet communication as worthless in political discussion do so because of their frustration after carefully writing an essay on why they think pineapple doesn’t belong on pizza and then finding out people disagree with them.
When someone else doesn’t see things the way we do, even though we explained it so clearly…most people get angry because they can’t imagine there’s a world of alternate experiences outside their own. A lot of those people blame the internet as worthless instead of examining their own place in the universe.
And yet: even if the person you talk to seems stubborn and obtuse, you have to remember that it’s all about planting seeds. If you’re familiar with the Christian Bible you know exactly what I’m talking about.
No one likes to feel like they “lost”, and denial despite the evidence is part of human nature. What matters is how that person will remember this conversation after they’ve calmed down. Maybe even more important is the deceptively high number of people who will see your words, not comment, and think on them for years to pass.
A lot of my political beliefs were formed over years of reading both sides of political arguments. The internet remembers, and your words will change people’s course in life. Even if you don’t know it.
“No politics or religion at the dinner table.”
That’s actually a really good rule.
Politics have ended friendships throughout history. The reason is that it’s not “just” politics. When you argue with someone about politics, believe it or not you are both arguing about the best way to protect humanity, to protect your religion, to fight fascism and evil. Even if one of you is accidentally supporting fascism. Use different words if you’d like, but when a friendship is broken over politics it’s because you disagree on what is “evil” and what isn’t.
With “good and evil” in mind, the question for us comes up: does martial arts teach morality? Some say no. I say yes, because all “art” teaches morality (regardless of whether you choose to be good or not). Without the “meaningless” art in museums and on TV, and in what we study, without the “meaningless” art and connection found in the existence of our `ohana we create, we’re just destroying what we see around us without producing anything that lasts.
Among the “arts”, the martial arts are unique because there’s far less talking and much more punching. Like most hobbies and religions, martial arts provide connection across cultures and subcultures that otherwise don’t understand each other. On the mat it doesn’t matter who you voted for, it matters that you can bring a fight to someone who wants violence. On the mats, drawing blood brings you closer together, because there it’s not about domination; it’s about strengthening each other. “Iron sharpens iron.” That’s a window for understanding. There’s a chance you can learn from each other. Maybe even change your politics.
But if a close friend cuts contact with you due to your politics, remember that it’s because politics isn’t just “talking”. It’s belief in what is good or evil. Legislation opens and closes doors for good and evil in our society.
For us in the arts: we fight. We brawl. We become blood brothers. If you don’t want to lose your Kajukenbo `ohana, don’t comment on their social media if you disagree with them. They will fight you. At that point all is fair, and anything they reply with that leads to the dissolving of your friendship is on your head.
Politics is complicated and frustrating, isn’t it? Too bad cupcake, your actions and inactions are both going to impact politics, and then politics will impact you. Quit whining and do something about it, your way, with the same resilience you show in your training.
As you establish your political beliefs and interact with each other remember what makes you a martial artist. Perhaps the most important trait to remember is honesty: most trouble in politics come from rationalizing the truth away instead of questioning what you were taught or want to believe. But everything in you that you received from the martial arts will inform your politics.
Martial arts teach more than just fighting. That’s why they’re each an “art”. The traits they give you on the road to being a fighter…discipline, perseverance, good training habits…should make you a role model. They should guide your politics. Beware of double-think and be honest with yourself. Then fight for what you truly believe.
Your words will be heard and read by others. You may not even notice they were paying attention. As you slowly become a black belt over the years and then continue your training, remember that you are impacting those around you, those who admire the traits the martial arts are supposed to have given you. They will see your stalwartness, they will see your hypocrisy, they will see you stand back and do nothing. Make your political choices with that in mind.
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