Political Aspirations

So I have returned from a three day stint in my office and hope to stay home until late April. Unlikely but I am hopeful.

I love working from home because I interface with people according to my own availability. While in the office you can only work so long before someone interrupts your task to meet with you or to question you about something.

It was also interesting to experience office politics at a new level. I can't get into the specifics of course but things have been different lately.

I have learned a lot about crafting words carefully and "messaging" of particular issues in ways that are less offensive but still send a strong signal. However, I have a really long way to go. For example I said something fairly innocuous that for some reason wasn't taken the way I intended it and I have been churning it over and over and over.

When I first started this job I wanted to be the Secretary of Education--to take this amazing knowledge I have been given and make permanent change at a higher level. But now that I know how carefully one must go about becoming involved at a political level I think that it isn't right for me. I think there is merit to being a soldier on the frontlines of change--when you talk to a WWII veteran, which impresses you more: "I wrote the proposal that allowed soldiers to have the necessary equipment to be able to defend themselves" vs. "I ordered the soldiers to evacuate and their lives were spared" or "I shot the man with a gun in his hand aimed at my companions"? I would say the latter though sadly, it is really the guy who wrote the proposal made the difference. Russians ended up abandoning WWI having lost more men than any other country because the czar's administration couldn't get their act together and provide proper equipment or training--Obama is finding himself in this situation right now as he does these town hall meetings and is being confronted by some very disgruntled Americans wondering what he is "doing to fix it all."

I kind of feel sorry for him as he gets a 7 year old little boy dressed in a suit and tie who says in his cute little accent "Um I would like to know why my teacher is getting fired and a lot of the others have pinkslips." Wow. What do you say to that? He has been in office for about three months now and people are demanding answers. You gotta admit it is gutsy to stand up in front of those people and say "we are doing all we can."

I am a teensy bit enraged over these bailout scandals regardless of who the Chief Executive Officer of this country is and while I can never ever be compassionate towards those who served themselves up a million in an offshore account with taxpayer dollars, I do understand that people are desperate.

My renter still owes us $1000 and is now officially late for her second rent check installment. Maybe we should move back to Sac.

In short, while I haven't given up on the hopes of being able to make positive change for a large number of people, I am rethinking what my role should be.

I might even just become a crazy reformer parent and ditch the work angle focusing exclusively on the schools where my children attend.