Politics is theatre

A selection from the novel that I’m currently writing. (Although I might edit this, when the manuscript is complete.)

I’ve been studying history for a few years now, and one of the things you learn by studying history is that politics is a blood sport. But at the same time, it’s also theatre. It’s deadly serious, but it’s all for show! When you see someone punished and someone else rewarded, when you see one group oppressed or another group killed, all because someone laid down a new law, well, its tragic and terrible and all that, but it’s also a performance! Someone is putting on a show! So you have to ask yourself: who is that guy performing for? Who is he trying to impress? Does he want us to feel fear? Or does he want us to feel love? What does he want us to see? And what’s he got hidden backstage? And if we get caught in the act – make no mistake, it is an act – then what will we do? If you want to understand politics, those are your questions. Because politics is theatre – where the props are people’s lives, and the stage is the whole world.

Well, what do you think? Do you agree, or disagree? Seen anything in the news lately that might suggest this character’s idea is true?