Is It For the Tips or For the Job?

Human behavior is culture; culture is politics; politics leads to behavior, and so the cycle repeats itself. But what is politics? The Oxford Dictionary offers two definitions: “1. The activities associated with the governance of a country or area, especially the debate between parties having power; 2. Activities aimed at improving someone's status or increasing power within an organization”.

This brings us to Mark Rutte, the Secretary General of NATO. Is he “doing politics” just to keep his seat warm? Is this why he’s all over the media, practically kissing Donald Trump’s ass like a waiter would do for tips?

Let’s look at our “Homo Politicus” through the lens of that first definition. It completely contradicts Rutte’s actual job description. First, he isn’t running a country, nor a group of countries; he is, in fact, a secretary (finally, men can be secretaries while women are Heads of State, that’s true empowerment!). Moreover, he isn’t running an area of expertise; that role belongs to the generals from each member State who share classified defense intel. The core principle of NATO is military, yet the Secretary General is just a spokesperson articulating that information. Rutte cannot make any decisions on behalf of members, right? In reality, no State within the organization is seeking more power; on the contrary, they want to spend less (even if the U.S. still foots over 60% of the bill).

The second Oxford definition, however, paints a perfect portrait of Rutte’s recent behavior. He appears in the photo ops of every major event, and when he gets near a microphone (never trust people who love microphones unless they are rock stars), he starts talking as if he were Trump’s campaign manager.

Take this recent nonsense about annexing, invading, or buying Greenland. Rutte jumped in as if he were the designated representative of the island. “When it comes to the protection of the Artic with a priority in Greenland, we have to spend more energy, more time, more focus on this, because we know the sea lines are opening up…”, he effectively claimed. We later learned there were agreements made behind the curtains regarding the Arctic, where Rutte negotiated a “framework" with Trump to calm him down. Can a mere secretary make such deals?

Rutte, or whoever holds this position, is supposed to be a peacemaker. He must guarantee the organization that there’re no disputes within and that the signed charter is respected fully. However, our human nature tells us the contrary. Are humans contradictory animals by nature, or does society teach us to be this way?

It is almost a certainty that Rutte is running a perpetual campaign to keep his job because it’s hard to imagine him doing anything else. Then again, there are plenty of people who need a good secretary, perhaps in Greenland or Denmark, so he can finally stop talking nonsense and start taking notes.

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