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Having been a political science major in college, I often get asked why I don't want to run for political office. The reasons have been many and varied over the years, and the most prevalent one is my highly developed sense of smell, and related peculiarities of my character. Let me explain that a little further.
I do have a very good nose for smells, both literal and figurative. I could smell the diesel fuel being sucked into our work spaces from the heavy work equipment at the site next to our building when they finally got the air handling system working more efficiently. Only maybe two out of ten people in the building I questioned about the noxious new aroma could identify the smell. [Is it a coincidence that only 20% of people in the USCG are women? I actually do not recall now if the only people who could relate to my alarm over the smell were women, but I know at least a couple were, and that I certainly did not ask more than a dozen. You can do the math from here....]
When spousal unit met some new 'friends' that wanted him to attend an informational meeting about a business venture at a local church, after hearing a few details before the meeting, I replied, "Pyramid scheme, I will not be going." I was told initially that I was just being cynical, but after the meeting and several follow up phone calls from these 'friends', he agreed with my snap judgment.
Another good reason why I believe that I could not be a successful politician is that I too often wear my heart on my sleeve, and tell people EXACTLY what I think, even when it may not be the most prudent/polite thing to do. Over a decade ago, while musing about future technology with my shipmates during a boring bridge watch, I commented that I thought that video phones would be a cool thing. One of my colleagues replied, "You should never use one of those because people would know exactly what you were thinking based on your facial expressions!" I thought that would be helpful in communication, but after being married for almost 10 years, I realize that he was right. It is hard to deny that you think something might work when you just rolled your eyes.......
Those anecdotes aside, my current reason for not wanting to run for office is that the political climate today seems to be only one of divisiveness, not what it really needs to be DECISIVENESS! Everyone wants to point out how different they are from the competition, when they really should be concerned with helping out the people in our society who need it most.
Since we don't have publicly financed elections, and nice guys/gals do too often seem to finish last, the focus of the incumbents is on raising money rather than raising the education level of our future generations. For congresspeople in particular, since their terms are only two years long, almost immediately after they are elected, they have to start earning money for their next election campaign. That means that all the serious work of legislating is being done by their staffers. Maybe that is OK, since they are they boss, and should be spending most of the time making the decisions, but it still bothers me.
And that is my current best reason for not wanting to run for ANY elected office in our federal government. Not that anyone is beating down my door asking me to run, but it was just something I wanted to get off my chest on a beautiful Easter morning!!!
