In my state, we have what are known as natural resources districts. Their job is to manage water supplies in given counties and to help provide conservation services for farmers. One of their better programs is to pay farmers for setting aside land as refuges for birds and other animals. A lot of them are very prosperous as hunting season rolls around(yes, you have to cull the population or the birds and deer face starvation.) I've filed to run for a local seat on the board where I live that encompasses nine counties.

While I have filed for office, I feel guilty for not doing so before I was 30. Perhaps I'm wrong in feeling this way? My grandfather was clerk of the district court in his county for over forty years. Civil service is something that I was raised to believe is very important.

Questions for debate:

1.)Is it your obligation to run for office at some point and time in your life?

2.)If you have never ran for office, why haven't you done so?, do you feel that you have neglected your civic duties because you haven't done so?

3.)If you have run for office in the past, has it helped you appreciate your civic obligations and government in general?

Nope, not at all. In fact, a majority of people have no business running for, or occupying any public office. Unfortunately, these are usually the people who get elected.



I have no interest in running for office, mostly because it would be suicidal to do so. I refuse to play the political game of "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" because all it does is cause a lot of itchy backs.

1.)Is it your obligation to run for office at some point and time in your life?
No absolutely not. I do believe one has a civic duty to their fellow citizens to a certain extent, but running for office is not the only way to fulfill that duty.

2.)If you have never ran for office, why haven't you done so?, do you feel that you have neglected your civic duties because you haven't done so?

Skeletons, skeletons, skeletons....

Seriously, though, I think my talents are better utilized elsewhere. Further, I don't have the ability to fake smile when I don't mean it & all-too-often I find my foot in my mouth. Such qualities do not make for an electable politician.

I certainly do not feel I have neglected my civic duties, however. Hosting the home to a community of highly intelligent, civic minded debaters is my way of giving back to my fellow citizens (and if you've been to the chats recently, you likely know all about how we're expanding this as well). I don't have much faith in modern government's ability to govern efficiently and effectively and I don't think I can change that by running for office. I won't work for any bankrupt systems, public or private. I'd rather work against them, to enact change from the outside rather than inside.

3.)If you have run for office in the past, has it helped you appreciate your civic obligations and government in general?

N/A


Good luck on your run, Nebraska!

1.)Is it your obligation to run for office at some point and time in your life?
In a way, I suppose it is. If you see an injustice, I believe that you are obligated to try and fix/stop it. That said...

2.)If you have never ran for office, why haven't you done so?, do you feel that you have neglected your civic duties because you haven't done so?
I haven't run because A) I would not even know where to begin, B ) I would lose, and C) I do not want my whole life to be analyzed by the entire public. In short - I'm stupid, scared, and selfish. I wouldn't say I've neglected my civic duty. Making informed voting decisions, donating to causes/politicians that are fighting for what is right, and participating in marches are way to try and stop injustice too.

Best of luck with the campaign. Let us know how it turns out.

1.)Is it your obligation to run for office at some point and time in your life?

Nope. A majority of people should not run for office. We need well informed people that can make decisions that is best for the communities and not for their own personal interests. A majority of politicans make decision based on their own personal interests, so no it isn't our obligations to run for office.

2.)If you have never ran for office, why haven't you done so?, do you feel that you have neglected your civic duties because you haven't done so?

I haven't ran for office yet because i am a little too young to run for office. I am currently 17 years of age. No, I do not feel that I have neglected my civic duties to run for office. I mean I donate to charities and participate in anti-abortion marches. In a way I am supporting my civic duties.

>>>Good luck Nebraska29 <<

1.)Is it your obligation to run for office at some point and time in your life?
Not an obligation, no, though it is (usually) a noble enough aspiration.
I think that it is more of an obligation to vote than it is to stand, and if you can't find anyone to vote for because nobody really represents your own views, then perhaps it becomes more incumbent on you to stand for election yourself. (Rather than sit about whining how the electoral system is broken because nobody listens to you.)

2.)If you have never ran for office, why haven't you done so?, do you feel that you have neglected your civic duties because you haven't done so?
First off, in Britain there are politicians who mostly stand for what I believe in (the Labour party - as distinct from "new" Labour"), so I've never felt unrepresented. Secondly, it just isn't something that has ever appealed to me enough for me to want to explore it further, though I wouldn't ever rule it out.

3.)If you have run for office in the past, has it helped you appreciate your civic obligations and government in general?
Not applicable to me, I'm afraid.

1.)Is it your obligation to run for office at some point and time in your life?

I agree with Julian, I think we have an obligation to vote (although I will 'fight to the death for people's right NOT to vote' of course )

Also, there are plenty of politicians whom I think would do their country a greater service by NOT running for office (George Galloway - if you're reading this - please emigrate - preferably to Antarctica) - so I think obliging anyone to do so is wrong!


2.)If you have never ran for office, why haven't you done so?, do you feel that you have neglected your civic duties because you haven't done so?

Well, there are not really any parties that particularly stand for what I believe in - (I'm a fuzzy libertarian, which means that Labour are out because they are too nanny-stateish and the Conservatives are out because they are too morally conservative - leaving Lib Dems, who don't seem to know what they stand for!)

I am thinking about getting more involved in UK politics, but it is a very competitive and time-consuming system in the UK for even the minor positions and frankly I feel that I do enough for my country by being in the Territorial Army and running around in the mud during odd weekends!

It's not one's obligation anymore than one is "obligated" to join the military if one support's the United States current war on terrorism.

We all have a civic duty and that includes participating in the political process.

Not everyone is cut out for political office. Not everyone is electable.

One needs outstanding verbal communication skills, above average charisma, is one who is not turned off by blatantly asking people for money/support, and must represent the views of a majority of people in one's city/district/state/country.

Most Americans fall down on one of those prerequisites. Fortunately, for many, intelligence and common sense is not a requirement for office.

1.)Is it your obligation to run for office at some point and time in your life?
It depends on several factors. First of all, you have to have a reasonable chance of winning. Otherwise, you're throwing money away at campaigning instead of putting that money towards a more productive use for society. My libertarian views on many issues would not be popular in many states.

Second of all, you have to be able to do a good job once you get elected.
Most of politics is NOT talk, unlike what the media portrays. It is hours upon hours of reading paperwork and sitting at a typewriter. To do this type of job, you have to be physically alert and have patience for reading budgets and reading papers written in Lawyerese. Sadly, most politicians in Washington D.C do not have these qualifications.

2.)If you have never ran for office, why haven't you done so?, do you feel that you have neglected your civic duties because you haven't done so?
Besides not having a reasonable chance of winning, I don't have the patience to read Lawyerese or sit in committee meetings during the late hours of the night.
I haven't neglected my civic duties. I try to fulfill my civic duties in other ways like voicing my opinions and researching the issues.

1.)Is it your obligation to run for office at some point and time in your life?

No.

2.)If you have never run for office, why haven't you done so?

Because I doubt there's a constituency in this country that would elect someone with my background and beliefs. Unfortunately, I would have no qualms about being honest in relation to my past, present, and political opinions. A predominantly gay recreational drug user in a stable, if open, same-sex relationship for twenty-five years, with two foster sons, who's extremely liberal on social issues, libertarian on most economic and property rights issues, in favor of states' rights, an advocate of Second Amendment rights, and a moderately conservative, non-interventionist nationalist is unlikely to find a majority anywhere.

Do you feel that you have neglected your civic duties because you haven't done so?

No, I feel that I have been realistic.

3.)If you have run for office in the past, has it helped you appreciate your civic obligations and government in general?

Not applicable - though I think I appreciate my civic obligations regardless of not having run for ofice. But I can't say that I appreciate my government in general - at least not its more recent practitioners - and I doubt that running for office would change that.