America
is a land of volunteers. Especially true at local levels. Just ask the busy
people in town and you will find people doing volunteer work – boy and girl
scout troop leaders, gardening clubs and their beautification efforts for the
town, musicians playing instruments and singing in choirs at the churches, hot
meals for the shut ins, usually organized by the churches, food pantries,
after school activities for kids, and a host of other programs and projects.
Mostly all voluntarily suggested, created and implemented.
The horsepower of successful communities are volunteers.
Visit your city hall and ask about volunteer opportunities.
You will be presented with a list! There are committees, commissions and
special projects all looking for volunteers. Visit the park district and you
will learn of volunteer coaching assignments for several sports, day care gigs
as well as senior citizen day care tasks. Talk with the library staff and the
same kinds of volunteer jobs are begging for fresh new blood! And the hospital. They especially need a
strong supply of candy stripers and gray and blue vest workers guiding and
welcoming patients and family members to the big, confusing, complex building. All for no pay.
And then there are the elected positions. Although they are
not voluntary in the sense of self appointment, they begin with the voluntary
decision to get involved and put their name in the hat! Deciding to run for
public office is a big leap of faith. First, you must have confidence in
yourself that you have something to offer to the position, and second, you must
have faith that the voters will be fair in considering their vote for you. If the position has more than one candidate,
there will be public information meetings, possibly debates, and campaign
literature, advertising and walking the neighborhoods looking for supporters.
In contested elections candidates have to gird themselves
for the negative attacks frequently launched by one candidate against another.
And the supporters of those candidates can become over zealous in their support
and take the campaign where no one wants to go!
Such is life these days. You want to help the community, you
wish to make a difference, and you honestly think you have something good to
offer the community, then it gets thrown back at you and you begin to wonder
what this is all about.
Been there. Done that! I've run and won a seat on our city
council; running for re-election I had a serious contender who played dirty. I
was not prepared for that. You’d have thought he was running for the
Senate! But no, this was a small local
position usually considered boring by most voters. But still a needed position with important work to do.
Volunteering my time, talents and efforts to the community
was one thing. Dealing with nasty attack rhetoric and whisper campaigns was
totally something else. Insulting, really. You see I’m gay and fairly open
about it. I don’t advertise it because many people are sensitive to the
subject. So I live my life openly and if someone wishes to talk about it with
me I’m more than willing to do so.
In political circumstances, however, such talk is done
quietly, secretly with rolling eyes and sly nodding of head and shoulders. You
know the message: you don’t really want a gay person on the city council, do
you? Well, they did the first time with no fanfare, and they saw what they got
for four years with complete transparency.
But the secret campaign worked and I was not re-elected.
A couple of years later I was appointed to a vacant board
position on the park board of commissioners. One year later I ran for the seat
in the open election, won, and four years later was re-elected to the same
spot. Quiet service to the community, no political fanfare, just a good job
well done by all on the board. That’s the way it should be. These are service
positions, after all, not life-long careers with pay or any benefits. Just
service.
The city council gig did pay a modest stipend ($400 per
month) and that mostly covered gas, wear and tear on the car, and the price of
many books and data subscriptions so I could study up on topics and be prepared
for emerging issues. But the money, you see, made people think aldermen were
feathering their nests and thus should be given the bum’s rush! How dumb can they be? Pretty dumb, really!
Very dumb. Take this discussion to the state and national
level and you see what I mean? Running for public office is a high contact
sport in America.
Don’t expect to be respected or loved! God forbid! Don’t help the officeholder
do his/her job with fresh information and voluntary help. Just sit on the
sidelines and complain and attack.
I truly don’t understand why there are any people willing to
run for public office. Consider just congressmen: they are required by the US
Constitution to run for re-election every two years. This is supposed to keep
them focused on doing the people’s work so they can be judged competent.
Instead, the congressmen are perpetually involved in their re-election
campaign. They are always raising money
for campaigning, selling votes to big donors and special interest groups, and
then following the political party line so they get cooperation from the party
in funding their next election as well.
The end result usually is a congressman who does not
represent the best interests of his district or the nation. But without money or party support, others
will run against you and destroy your reputation with stories and attacks that
are not based on facts at all. It is heinous, and it will lead to the
destruction of our national credibility and sustainability if it isn't solved.
Forget about running for governor of your state, or the US Senator from
your state, or for President. The stakes are enormous and so the fight gets
really dirty. Fast. And so terribly counter to factual evidence.
It’s a pity that we don’t do better. We can do better. And
we must do better. Doing that begins with each of us doing more volunteer work
and understanding the issues from the inside. Then you will be prepared to run
for office – large or small – and possibly run later for a more leadership
oriented position. Perhaps that position will help you help the nation back to
a more pleasant and honest political environment?
I doubt this will be a fast process. I doubt I will live
long enough to see it. But I have done my part and will continue to volunteer
for interesting tasks. But elections? Not again. I’m too old. That sport is for
young people. But intelligent, involved people will vote for the best people
because their experience makes that possible.
Try it! You might like it!
September 25, 2014
