Dear Editor,

Think of a ball running between two eager opponents. The ball represents the people and the contenders for the ball are the political parties.

Usually the people who end up chosing one side over the next are not actually allowed to make any rational or objective choice one way or another, as they may believe, but are invariably kicked, under the guise of skilful persuasion, toward the intended goal of each team as the ball snakes and twists between legs and ankles and meanders around contenders as each side considers the best moves to make to get the ball to goal.

Therefore, the people are basically booted toward a choice or a political direction unless, of course, they are independently influenced as diehard supporters.

That would be the only game changer, whereby the ball is uneven and is favourable to one side more than the other.

Similar to politics, the World Cup is a carnival of emotional hysteria in which even the appearance of a player may also influence love and mass support. Similarly, in politics there is often violent clashes between opponents, with great mud-slinging either towards the referee or members of the opposing side.

Also, like politics, in which people are running with the momentum of one party much more than the other, whenever the opposition’s safety net is shattered by the ‘gangs’ of the winning side, the spoils or trophies do not go to the people themselves but the political team that it puts in office — the goal.

Homer Sylvester

Mount Vernon, New York

h2sylvester@gmail.com