Technically sure, but that's not what people generally mean when they say "politics." Crappy politics is where you become friends with the "right" people, or throw the "wrong" people under the bus, or where you adapt your behavior to look good, instead of doing actually good things. Parent comment is saying instead you could consider how your actions can positively impact someone else, rather than just telling people what to do and what to give you. The latter is technically politics, but more generally is just the general way a good person interacts with the world. Think "win-win" from 7 habits of highly effective people.
Once you have experience as a manager you'll appreciate how great it is having a"can do" person like this on your team.
This is a philosophy you can wear comfortably too, as it's not based on sucking up.
If you have a decent boss, they'll make sure you share in the glory.
If you haven't, you'll need to move on to some of the darker arts.