Back when I worked in politics, I was often instantly judged for who I worked for, based on political party. I got a lot of, “Republican or Democrat?” and then I’d answer and I’d get an, “Oh I’m sorry.” That was the nicer (I guess) of them. I also had a lot of angry people call the office and say, “How can you live with yourself working for [that person]?!”
Some people work for companies or organizations whose political views, or the political views of the CEO/Chairperson/etc. are unknown. And then there are those of us who work(ed) somewhere where every teeny tiny political view must be expressed, where the whole job is to express political views. Where if you stay silent on an issue, then a whole slew of other haters come out of the woodwork to attack. (Or you work for Chick-Fil-A.)
To me, a job is a job is a job. Any job I have, I’m going to do and do well. I may not have agreed on every argument I had to defend or every talking point I had to write, but…does anyone, anywhere they work?
I love politics, all of it, and while I’m not entrenched in it like I once was, I still appreciate it. Appreciating it is, for me, appreciating it regardless of party. Personally, I fail to see a huge difference in political party, anyway. To me all politicians have the same job: Get re-elected. What they do to get there doesn’t really differ all that much.
Maybe that’s why it was so easy for me to just “do the job” and to turn around and roll my eyes when someone said they were sorry for who I worked for.
I think there’s an expectation for my generation (and more so the younger end of it, maybe?) to have a career where you’re changing or bettering the world. While I think it’s awesome, truly, if you can make that happen — if you can do what you love and it pays the bills and it helps the environment or needy children or whatever — that is the tops.
But for me, for now, a job keeps the electricity on and champagne in the glass and diapers on LG’s butt and really? If it does all that AND I like what I’m doing? That’s good enough for me.
Not sorry.
I love every part of this.
BRAVO, Sarah. BRAVO.
(And who are these assholes telling you these things? OMG.)
I feel the same way. A job is a job and if you enjoy it, then that’s great. It might not be flashy or in remote jungles but if it makes your life function, then what of it?
A means to an ends…
Vacations in Europe.
Vacations with tiny tots in Hawaii.
Vacation, vacations, vacations.
Oh, I LOVE my job and all of the various and sundry assholes I’ve met along the way who, at the end of the day, make me laugh. Because, they. are. such. assholes.