World, Writing, Wealth discussion

Many of us are critical of those in public office. Would you run for public office to make a change? Why or why not?

Run - probably not, but may walk slowly, if sacked as a mod here on GR -:)
I also believe that instead of complaining, it's logical to attempt improving things yourself..

Change the system from within.

Yep

Nope! I am too honest to be a politician.

Michel wrote: "Nope! I am too honest to be a politician."

I've contemplated it, and then realised that I want to have an actual life. I assume that a good politician, working for their electorate, works flat out. And I'm not sure I could do the wheeling and dealing that seem to go hand in hand with it all.

I also have Michel's problem. (Which is a good problem to have!)

I have a friend who won a seat on the City Council. He's been surprised by the amount of time this job requires. He's made his money and has time to devote to the job. He's giving it serious effort, and I admire him for that. It has shown me, though, that you have to have an independent income in order to do the job, which necessarily denies the common man a seat at the table.

Unfortunately, my impression - the systems are often built in such a way that politicians are dependable and the best public interest is sometimes low on their list of priorities

Denise, on a local level, you might be able to win if your opponent has proved corrupt. Using that platform, you could make honest change.

The whole problem is that public office requires huge amounts of your time, and time spent schmoozing which would interfere with my passion for telling stories...

Remember the line from the movie 'THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER', said by an American Secretary of Defense to the hero, Jack Ryan: 'I am a politician, which means that when I am not kissing babies I am stealing their lollipops.'

Sadly, I think you're right. We elected two new members to our City Council, and they're disappointing me already. I had high hopes, but today I find that they're falling right in there with the entrenched politicians.

It's because we think they want to represent us, but they don't...

I do think some people begin by wanting to do the best thing for the most people, but the system is so corrupt that you can't work within it without becoming part of it.

How high?
Changes at the top are mostly virtue signalling over the stuff you like and playing the obstructionist card to the stuff you don't. That's just how it is. As with Managing Directors / Chief Executive Officers in the private sector, Prime Ministers / Presidents reflect the ground work done by politicians / workers of all stripes. They are the Star-Spangled, Bulldog faced rubber stamps of approval. You get to make a real difference at ground level.
Including voluntary work I've been Chair to the Trustees at Relate Lancashire and I'm currently a Governor at Rhyddings Secondary School, Oswaldtwistle, Lancs. Neither position has a salary yet carries duties. Stretch the definition a little and I'm also a member of CIMA's Manufacturing Group.

Reading that made me tired.

Terence wrote: "Neither position has a salary yet carries duties...."

That deserves respect.
Ironically, in some places in Eastern Europe some ppl are least interested in their salary, just because bribes are so much higher -:)

I want to be a politician, so yes, I'd run for public office.

Good luck, Melisa! Hope you'll realize your aspirations

Scout wrote: "I do think some people begin by wanting to do the best thing for the most people, but the system is so corrupt that you can't work within it without becoming part of it."

Absolutely this.

Nik wrote: "Good luck, Melisa! Hope you'll realize your aspirations"

Thank you. The only difficulty is I want to be a "good politician", and those seem to be few and far between.

No, although a certain someone sure makes me think it's possible..

Melisa wrote: "Thank you. The only difficulty is I want to be a "good politician", and those seem to be few and far between."

You don't have to be like others.. And life is sometimes difficult anyway :)

We certainly need politicians who have principles that they won't compromise

Provided they are good principles.

Can be a catch 22 here: good people with good principles might be at disadvantage versus less particular working internal intrigues, sponsors, party's hierarchies and pretending to have better principles and impeccable reputation :)

Right, Nik, you just defined most politicians :-)

We say politician and usually mean mayors, senators, representatives, etc. Our local city council was not a big deal until the last 20 years and seats started actively being fought over. Before that, finding someone to do the job was hard enough.

Also, in Arizona, our judges, prosecutor, superior court clerk, are all elected positions. Does that make them politicians? It can become very political during some of the races.

A paralegal who was in one of my study groups to obtain her national certification (before being a paralegal actually became a degree from colleges) is now our clerk of the superior court in our county.

I would never want her job or any other office in government, political or not. I hate working within other people's systems and rules. I am more a see a problem, fix it type, and jumping through hoops before I can do so is just too frustrating.