Speaking as someone who works in politics, I feel the moral duty to do the following:
[Bucket of Cold Water ON]
Why exactly do you want to be involved in politics? I might be reading into things, but when you said in your OP that you thought your Great Leader was a joker, it sounds like you are quite ambitious… perhaps too ambitious? If you’re looking at going into politics because you think everyone else is a bunch of jokers, and you can outsmart them well, I’d say think twice about it.
Part of the game is losing… a lot. You lose elections, you lose money, you lose debates, you lose the respect of some people… at times, it can be an awful lot like being on that little league soccer team I was on that was like 0-16, and lost every game like 12-3. The more important that you become, the more people will write and tell you that you’re in idiot. Contrary to conventional wisdom, you will not have the reassurances of frequent polls that will confirm that you have the support of your constituency. The first signs that you might be reviled will likely be rude phone calls at your office (which occur even if you are well-loved) followed by a trouncing at the next election.
Unless you have a pretty strong idea of what is wrong with your community (ie, not your country and not the world), some ideas on how to fix it, and you have a thick enough skin (or perhaps dumb enough?) to let all the criticism that comes with the territory to just roll off your back, or the extraordinarily rare talent, that perhaps one in ten million possess, to use your wits to charm the pants off just about any critic who meets you in person, I’d say politics may not be the greatest career choice. There’s a lot of blowhards in politics, yes, but my view is that they make the world a worse place to live, and I’d rather not have more of them around.
[Cold Water OFF]
If you’re really serious about politics, here’s a few ways how to start. Since you’re going to be working in education, you might think about becoming active in your local teacher’s union. See what they do and show up every time. Meet everyone and volunteer to do things that others don’t want to do… organize the call lists, count receipts, etc until you can work your way into the leadership. Talk to the union president about running for the school board. Hit up your friends for money - ask for $75, and count yourself lucky if you get $20. (Get used to this.) Go to city hall, read the election laws, register to run for the school board, print up a bunch of signs, visit all your neighbors and shake their hands. You’re young, so that’s a good start… you can see if you like what you’re doing. It’s small potatoes, yes, but if you do that well - as in, you make your constituents happy by making improvements to local schools - voila, you have a issue to run on for city council. Don’t worry right now about running for Parliament or whatever… since you don’t even know what party you should belong to, start realizing that you won’t be a good candidate for another 15-25 years.
A couple notes: if you like working with the teacher’s union, you’ll probably fall into a party affiliation with them. If you think they’re all suckers, join the other party. Also, learn how to give a speech. Take a drama class or join the Toastmasters. If you know how to add some flair to your speaking, people remember you, and they might even listen to what you have to say.
Finally, check out “How to Run for Local Office : A Complete, Step-By-Step Guide that Will Take You Through the Entire Process of Running and Winning a Local Election” by Robert Thomas… on Amazon.com. It’s somewhere to start.
