I just finished watching West Wing, and it finally dawned on me why that show is so enjoyable for me. I think I want to throw myself into that fray.
Now, I probably wouldn't want to run for office. I do not fancy the scrutiny (any skeletons you'd rather not have discovered?), but I also have never been one for a forefront leadership role. I work better behind the scenes, which is fine with me. However, I have realized that I enjoy debating issues (check any number of threads
), and that I have a strong conviction about issues.
I have been having a crisis of conscience for the last couple years because I could not figure out what I wanted to do. I have the potential for a law career if I so choose, but neither corporate nor private practice appeals to me. It's all just pushing money around and never doing anything meaningful. There's criminal practice, but defense is out of the question. Prosecution is appealing, but most of your time is spent plea bargaining, which would bother me.
Politics, on the other hand, has the same advocacy side to it as legal practice in many ways, and yet deals with the issues of the day. A politician can make a true difference in the world -- look at George Washington or Abraham Lincoln or Ronald Reagan, for that matter. Countless senators have left their mark on this country. I could continue, but I think the point is made.
I expect Red Dawn in here at any minute to denounce the myopic right and the idiotic left, but what better way to change for the better than from within the system? A law professor I had told us that if we wanted to work for a better criminal justice system, don't become a public defender (I was never inclined anyway!) -- become a prosecutor. It makes sense. Even if you are for the rights of an accused and of a very liberal persuasion, it makes more sense to fairly prosecute them than to zealously defend. One can accomplish so much more when one is acting as the government as opposed to reacting to the government. I feel similarly about politics. Railing from the outside against what is being done serves little purpose in most cases. Working on the inside to change what is being done can make an enormous difference.
I am intrigued and entirely serious. I can find meaning in a political job, meaning which has eluded me entirely working for companies who only seek to make money. Sure, companies pay lip service to community service and customer service and such, but it's all BS. Stockholders and owners are the ones who need to be pleased -- everything else is just tangential. I have to think this over quite a bit because it's an enormous change if I choose it.
Anyone dabbled in politics before or know someone that has/is? I don't expect an easy road, but that's not what I'm after. If I have to work 80 hours/week at something I love, then it seems more like a vacation. If I work 40 hours/week at a crappy corporate job, it seems like prison or penance.
Now, I probably wouldn't want to run for office. I do not fancy the scrutiny (any skeletons you'd rather not have discovered?), but I also have never been one for a forefront leadership role. I work better behind the scenes, which is fine with me. However, I have realized that I enjoy debating issues (check any number of threads
), and that I have a strong conviction about issues.I have been having a crisis of conscience for the last couple years because I could not figure out what I wanted to do. I have the potential for a law career if I so choose, but neither corporate nor private practice appeals to me. It's all just pushing money around and never doing anything meaningful. There's criminal practice, but defense is out of the question. Prosecution is appealing, but most of your time is spent plea bargaining, which would bother me.
Politics, on the other hand, has the same advocacy side to it as legal practice in many ways, and yet deals with the issues of the day. A politician can make a true difference in the world -- look at George Washington or Abraham Lincoln or Ronald Reagan, for that matter. Countless senators have left their mark on this country. I could continue, but I think the point is made.
I expect Red Dawn in here at any minute to denounce the myopic right and the idiotic left, but what better way to change for the better than from within the system? A law professor I had told us that if we wanted to work for a better criminal justice system, don't become a public defender (I was never inclined anyway!) -- become a prosecutor. It makes sense. Even if you are for the rights of an accused and of a very liberal persuasion, it makes more sense to fairly prosecute them than to zealously defend. One can accomplish so much more when one is acting as the government as opposed to reacting to the government. I feel similarly about politics. Railing from the outside against what is being done serves little purpose in most cases. Working on the inside to change what is being done can make an enormous difference.
I am intrigued and entirely serious. I can find meaning in a political job, meaning which has eluded me entirely working for companies who only seek to make money. Sure, companies pay lip service to community service and customer service and such, but it's all BS. Stockholders and owners are the ones who need to be pleased -- everything else is just tangential. I have to think this over quite a bit because it's an enormous change if I choose it.
Anyone dabbled in politics before or know someone that has/is? I don't expect an easy road, but that's not what I'm after. If I have to work 80 hours/week at something I love, then it seems more like a vacation. If I work 40 hours/week at a crappy corporate job, it seems like prison or penance.
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