OPINION: Are we bashing our politicians too much?

DISCLAIMER: This may be the least popular opinion piece ever written.

MP EXPENSES: Travel and other expenses incurred by Queensland MPs are available to the public. Picture: contributed

DISCLAIMER: This may be the least popular opinion piece ever written.

That's because the subject happens to be the national pastime that almost everyone loves to indulge in - I'm talking, of course, about pollie bashing.

In a healthy democracy we criticise things, and that's a right we all should have.

After all, it's how things stay balanced and how things never end up being too lop-sided.

I mean, we're all entitled to blasting a politician, especially one who says ridiculous things.

Some professions garner more criticism than others - lawyers, used car salespeople, journalists ... but number one on the list has to be politicians.

"They're in it for the money!" people scream.

Yes - if all your waking moments were consumed with your work, at the cost of family, friends and things you just love to do, wouldn't you want to be in it for the money too?

Very, very few people would say no to a pay rise.

"Politicians are all the same," people say.

Well, sometimes it can seem like this, but nothing is stopping members of the general public getting up and giving it a go and breaking that rule.

"Politicians don't care about anyone but themselves," is another one we often hear.

This probably depends on the individual.

Often, politicians are tied by things like funding and the resources they have at hand.

They often must work behind the scenes and sometimes, I suspect, can't talk in detail about exactly what it is they're doing regardless of if their image suffers as a consequence.

Can you imagine being in a situation where every person who came to you wanted to abuse you or complain to you at best?

I'm not saying we shouldn't complain to politicians, because yes they are there to serve us, but think for a moment about how many issues, topics and situations they have to deal with.

Politicians, good and bad, can cop a lot of flak.

Recently we've seen myriad tweets and Facebook posts calling for someone to assassinate new American president Donald Trump.

Don't get me wrong, I can't really state how I personally feel about this man while keeping this article professional, but no one deserves to be threatened with death.

Trump didn't get elected by accident. He put his hand up, asked for votes and people gave him votes.

People are responsible for Trump more than Trump himself.

By all means our representatives should be held to account, blasted for abusing their privileges and kept in check.

However, sometimes we need to think about how much good our politicians do, and how much work often goes unnoticed because we're so busy with the "bashing".

It wouldn't be an easy job at any level.

Yes there's the money, there's the perks - but there's also the threats, the abuse and the nights without sleep.

Politicians, at the end of the day, are simply people.

Originally published as OPINION: Are we bashing our politicians too much?