Politics can be exhausting, divisive, and deeply personal. But the truth is simple: Our entire lives are shaped by politics. Whether we like it or not, we are affected by local, national, and international decisions every single day.
Ignoring politics does not protect us from its consequences. Staying informed does. A case in point is a story many people may have missed.
To the east of Venezuela lies a small and relatively quiet country — Guyana. Its western region, Essequibo, borders Venezuela and makes up nearly two-thirds of Guyana’s territory. It is sparsely populated and largely wilderness. For decades, it attracted little international attention.
That changed dramatically in recent years when enormous offshore oil reserves were discovered near Essequibo. Almost overnight, Guyana’s gross domestic product per capita tripled, transforming one of South America’s poorest countries into a strategic energy player.
Soon after, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro held a referendum asking whether Essequibo should be annexed by Venezuela. The justification was an old and disputed 19th-century arbitration ruling. Unsurprisingly, more than 90 percent voted yes. Military drills followed near Guyana’s border. Had this aggression succeeded, a small, defenseless country would have lost most of its territory — and Maduro would have gained control over a staggering share of global oil reserves.
What stopped him was not international law or moral outrage, but power. American oil companies had invested heavily in Guyana, and the prospect of a U.S. response made further escalation too costly.
This matters because it reveals an uncomfortable truth: When we hear governments complain about violations of sovereignty, we must ask whose sovereignty is really being defended — and whose interests.
This lesson resonates far beyond South America. In my own home country, Georgia, power is increasingly concentrated in the hands of an unelected oligarch, Bidzina Ivanishvili. Though he holds no official office, he effectively controls the state through his political party, Georgian Dream. Under his influence, Georgia has drifted away from democratic values and closer to Russian political and economic control, undoing decades of progress and hope.
There is no place for oligarchy or dictatorship in the modern world. When democratic backsliding is ignored, it spreads. When it is confronted — through international pressure, sanctions, accountability, and solidarity — it can be stopped.
Politics is not a hobby. It is the framework that determines whether nations thrive, stagnate, or fall under authoritarian rule. Staying silent does not keep us neutral; it only leaves decisions in the hands of those who benefit most from silence.
I hope that one day, democratic values are defended everywhere — consistently, firmly, and without fear.
Tsisnami Sakvarlishvili lives in Amagansett.