Policies about Men's Rights and other things should be decided through deliberation and discourse but, at the end of the day, they are made by those with the power to make them; political winners.
The machinery we have available to us to reverse policies like automatic assignment of child custody to mothers in divorce cases is Government. Government office is won through ideological, party politics.
Part of the noise of modern life is idle, social conversation about actual political discourse. Most of these social conversations have no meaningful impact on policy but they do play a role in social interactions. Within social structures, fashionable sentiments arise as people's movements within their social groups begin to reflect the prevailing sentiments and vice versa. People will admire a person for the views they hold and also adopt certain views because of the people who hold them. Both tendencies reflect those human frailties that originally lead to the establishment of governments. It is tempting to think that appealing to people's fashionable sentiments is a good place to start in gaining influence over policy. This is why the term "moderate" is widely used as a compliment in politics and as a pejorative in any other human endeavor (moderate success = failure.) In a popular democracy, broad appeal might deliver transient success but never enduring progress toward fundamental goals.
So anytime you are taking part in a discussion that you think is important and meaningful and just might have some impact on policies that affect you, remember this:
Anyone who asks you to check your politics at the door in the interest of good manners is TRYING TO SHUT YOU UP. Hoist your banner, whatever it is, high and don't let anyone pull it down without a fight. Your views may cost you your position within a social structure but if you are willing to surrender your beliefs in order to maintain a position within a clique, you might just as well adopt the beliefs of the clique (at least until the fashions change.)
For the purposes of this essay:
Politics is the never-ending discourse and struggle between people for what they think is right. People everywhere say they hate politics. Politics is a lot of work and people are frail, selfish, lazy and remarkably clever at figuring ways out of things they don't like.
And so...
Ideological labels are tools people use to identify those with whom they agree or disagree most of the time in political discussions.
Political parties are organizations that allow people to form alliances and share resources with people they agree with most of the time with the purpose of defeating the people they disagree with most of the time.
Government is the machinery people have constructed and agreed (or have been forced) to submit to in order to do other things besides discourse and struggle (e.g. find food, watch T.V.)
Government has the power of life and death over people; that is its defining characteristic.
Smart people want the government machine to be operated by those people with whom they agree most of the time.
Policies are the formally established measures that are to be taken in specific circumstances by an organization or institution.
