One thing you have got to do politically is to identify the ties

Hear the words of Boris Johnson, spoken with a politician’s instinct but echoing an ancient truth: “One thing you have got to do politically is to identify the ties that bind society together and try to strengthen them.” These words, though framed in the context of governance, touch upon the deepest foundations of human community. For no city, no nation, no empire can endure without bonds of unity. The walls may be strong, the armies vast, the coffers full, yet if the ties of trust, duty, and shared belonging are severed, the structure collapses into dust.

The ancients themselves saw this clearly. Aristotle taught that man is by nature a political animal, not because he hungers for power, but because he thrives in the bonds of the polis—the shared life of the city. It was the ties of family, friendship, custom, and law that sustained the Greek city-states. When those bonds were honored, Athens rose to greatness; when they frayed through faction and civil strife, the city descended into ruin. Thus, Johnson’s words recall this timeless lesson: the art of politics is not only the wielding of authority but the tending of the invisible threads that knit society together.

Consider the fall of the Roman Republic. Its armies conquered nations, its wealth overflowed, but the ties that once bound patrician and plebeian, citizen and Senate, were broken by greed and ambition. The common good was forgotten, replaced by private gain. Civil war followed, and the Republic gave way to empire. This story stands as a monument for all time: without the strengthening of unity, even the mightiest society is undone. Johnson’s words, though modern, are born of this ancient pattern, for history teaches again and again that division is the seed of downfall.

And yet, the reverse is also true. In times of peril, leaders who sought to strengthen the bonds of their people brought forth resilience. Think of Winston Churchill, who during Britain’s darkest hour in the Second World War, did not promise ease or comfort, but called upon shared courage, shared sacrifice, shared destiny. His words became the ties that united a nation under bombardment, binding them to endure until victory came. This is the heart of leadership: to see what unites, to nurture it, and to build upon it so that the people do not fracture but stand as one.

The meaning of Johnson’s counsel is therefore clear: politics is not merely the making of laws or the winning of debates, but the art of weaving unity. The ties that bind society may be traditions, language, faith, justice, or even shared struggle. They may differ from one nation to another, but in all, they must be recognized, honored, and protected. To weaken them is to invite discord; to strengthen them is to create endurance. For unity is not uniformity—it is harmony, many voices blending into one song of common purpose.

The lesson for us is profound: each of us has a duty not only to demand strength from leaders but to live as binders of the social fabric ourselves. In our homes, let us cultivate loyalty and care. In our communities, let us defend fairness and honesty. In our workplaces, let us build trust rather than suspicion. For politics alone cannot bind a people; the daily deeds of citizens are the true threads of unity. If we neglect these, no leader can save us.

What, then, must we do? Look around and ask: what binds us together here? Is it shared values, shared struggles, shared hopes? Nurture those. Guard them. Do not allow bitterness, prejudice, or division to cut them apart. Speak words that build trust, not hatred. Act in ways that foster unity, not suspicion. For the health of society depends not on the wealth of its rulers, but on the strength of its bonds.

Thus remember: the ties that bind are sacred. They are not always visible, yet they carry the weight of nations. Strengthen them, and society will endure through storm and strife. Neglect them, and even the proudest civilization will crumble into ash. Johnson’s words call us to the ancient truth: unity is the first law of survival, and its strengthening the noblest duty of both leaders and people.