One can achieve much in public office, serving in a local council, a state legislature or a federal senate, or even within a government department. One can do great good for a great many people. But one can also do much damage if bad decisions are made or if political expedience proceeds at the expense of public interest. Plus, there’s the temptation to see power as an end in and of itself; a means to influence, status and wealth; or else as an opportunity for corruption and grift. Even if one starts out with the noblest of intentions, those intentions can be worn down by cynicism or ruined by
...more
