Personally, I respect reluctance to protest. Protest is situationally effective and sometimes necessary, but holds a dramatically outsized place in public imagination. So much of effective politics happens elsewhere.
The core of politics is building coalitions of cooperation that can sustain and grow themselves, ideally around habits of ongoing participation and policy goals that have wide benefits.
That means you have to start by developing habits. You are a political organization of one. What habits of schedule and focus will sustain that? How will you widen them into an organization of two, of six, of twelve, and more?
> I've debated it, but I think I'm a bit too eccentric to be a good politician.
There may be an example or two of people who many would find eccentric who are currently holding elected office. You never know.
> I am also afraid it would turn me evil.
The key is making sure that you don't ever place yourself outside relationships of accountability. As long as you can think of recent conversations where you've engaged in reflective give and take with a personal or public critic that you have sustained relationships with, chances are pretty good you're OK.
The core of politics is building coalitions of cooperation that can sustain and grow themselves, ideally around habits of ongoing participation and policy goals that have wide benefits.
That means you have to start by developing habits. You are a political organization of one. What habits of schedule and focus will sustain that? How will you widen them into an organization of two, of six, of twelve, and more?
> I've debated it, but I think I'm a bit too eccentric to be a good politician.
There may be an example or two of people who many would find eccentric who are currently holding elected office. You never know.
> I am also afraid it would turn me evil.
The key is making sure that you don't ever place yourself outside relationships of accountability. As long as you can think of recent conversations where you've engaged in reflective give and take with a personal or public critic that you have sustained relationships with, chances are pretty good you're OK.