It seems that as I forge my way through year after year of education, more and more people start to ask me what I plan to do after college. Admittedly this is expected. Attending and graduating from a prestigious institution of higher learning is supposed to yield immediate success in the real world. At a Christmas party my parents held this past December, I found myself having the same conversation over and over with many different people. It wasn't a horrible ordeal; in some ways it was flattering. The average conversation went something like this:
"So Brian, a junior already. What are you studying?"
"Government and economics."
"Oh, government and economics. So is it going to be business school or law school?"
"Neither, actually. At least not right away."
"Oh? Then what is it you're going to do?"
"Well there's a Senate campaign that will be kicking off right about the time I graduate so I might want to work on that, or maybe the presidential race."
"Politics? Why would you want to do that? Washington is full of crooks and people who are totally incompetent!"
"Seems like that would make it an easier field to break into, then. Wouldn't it?"
That is the answer I usually give, and it always gets me a blank stare in return. In this day and age, when Dartmouth grads can make ridiculous sums of money right out of school, working on campaigns doesn't make a whole lot of sense for most people. On the other hand, I can't exactly claim that a career in politics, generally considered a dirty business, is altruistic. So why bother with it? If government is just a necessary evil and what goes on in Washington has no real connection to what ordinary people do every day, what is the point?
A lot of people wonder why I would subject myself to a world of sniping, posturing and deadlock when there is an entire rational world waiting to be explored. The answer is that I quite simply love politics. I can't get enough of it. I'm that (annoying) guy sitting in the back of your government class who knows the names of both senators from Idaho. We all have our niches in this world, our areas of expertise, and I have carved out my place as one of Dartmouth's resident political junkies (and as a Star Wars junkie more on that next time).
Of course, I don't expect everyone to share my enthusiasm for public policy and political head-games. In fact, I count on the fact that most of you either despise politics or have no interest in it either way. Despite our founders' intention for the best and brightest in America to represent their neighbors in Congress, our most promising young minds often decide to pursue careers in fields such as business, law or medicine. Because of the uniquely competitive nature of politics and elections, aspiring lawmakers like myself are happy that the talent pool tends to be shallow (no pun intended).
All right, now that you all are aware of my modest career aspirations, let me fill you in on what your role as the future business leaders, doctors, lawyers and other enormously successful members of the private sector is. Stay informed. Part of the reason politicians have such difficulty getting anything accomplished is because their inability to gauge how strongly an inattentive public will react to sweeping reforms forces them to be extremely cautious. The people who run our government look to everyday people for signals on how to vote and what pieces of legislation to consider. Perhaps to a greater extent, however, they lend an ear to the leaders of the various fields in the private sector: lawyers, businesspersons and medical experts to name a few. As the future leaders of America, you may have more of a voice in public policy development than you would think. Recently I was able to act as a fly on the wall in a meeting between a congressman (a Dartmouth graduate, incidentally) and the CEOs from the 21 largest financial services firms in America. It was shocking how well informed these CEOs were about what was going on in Congress, even on issues that did not pertain directly to their firms. Despite the incredible cost to them of spending time reading about government activity, they felt that following congressional events and decisions was important to their effectiveness as spokesmen for their companies. This is something for us all to keep in mind as we go forward, hopefully one day becoming spokespersons on behalf of our own organizations and companies.
In planning out a career in government I suppose I am counting my chickens before they hatch. But regardless of my own political fate, the preceding advice was offered with the best of intentions. Think about it this way: if I get my wish, I'll be helping decide what to do with around 40 percent of your salary some day. You might as well try to get your money's worth.
