When you build characters, giving them a bit of background, or history, makes it much easier to flesh out their realities and motivations. You see so many representations of politicians as simple power-hungry type-a personalities that we gloss over (what may be their) true motivations. Who is it that gets involved in politics?
Looking through my FB feed this morning, I find that another old friend has been elected to the old home town's school board. She's a smart and capable woman. I'd have voted for her. From what I remember: she was in sales, works from home, and has a couple of kids. School board isn't a full-time job, but it does have some responsibilities. Moreover, for someone already tied into the community, it is a strengthening of those bonds and a way to give back by hopefully leading it in a positive direction.
It's a longstanding tradition to have well known and respected individuals from within a community take a role in how that community is run. These may not be the brightest or most creative individuals from a society (though they could be), since those people are often self-centered (why shouldn't they be?). These leaders are selected because of the relationships they have cultivated in the community. For elected officials, this requires honesty, character, and empathy. The previous two paragraphs may sound hopelessly naive, but in local politics, that's often what you depend on (not my naïveté, but that people of some skill, who you trust, will do a good job).
The trouble with representational government (well, one of em), is that the larger you get in scale, the harder it is to know you representative. Growing up, I was a little surprised to get to know my mayor a little (I swam with his kids). It has never seemed a real possibility for me to know anyone in the higher levels of authority in this country (as much as their commercials tell me that they are just like me). However, democracy being a relatively new invention, it's mostly outside the scope of Fantasy worlds, especially in larger scales, so I'll cut off that line of thinking there.
Politicians who are appointed may be another matter altogether. They still depend upon relationships, but not necessarily with the community as a whole. You don't often get young appointees. These are generally people who have already earned a reputation in their chosen field, whether it be tax-collector or engineer. Here is where corruption tends to creep in. Few people have friends appropriate for every appointed position and those seeking to be appointed always have agendas (for good or ill).
Local politicians aren't generally well paid, so either they are already well established in business prior to their term, or they are a prime target for corruption (assuming they weren't previously corrupted). It can be a small step between installing people you trust in certain positions, and nepotism. A contractor you know and trust may not be the cheapest bid on a project, but you know they'll do a good job. Others might call that favoritism. I'm sure that, in some cases, one leads to another. It must be tempting to help friends, even if they aren't giving you a kickback.
I feel kind of bad for having used an old friend's success to discuss motivations behind political misdeeds, but she's smart enough to know that I don't believe she'll misbehave in that manner. It does make me wonder though, how these friends who have gotten into government will grow with these new roles, as their opportunities continue to expand. Will they remain bright shining souls, or will they slowly be twisted by the maze of favors and compromises? For a writer, it might just depend upon how you look at it, with the old idea of the villain being the hero of their own story. Maybe they will be doing what they think is best for their family, or constituency, or town. I guess I'll have to keep working on my politicians' motivations.
Wow, what was that all about? I dunno. Did it spawn any thoughts in you? Do you know anyone in politics? Did they always want to do it? How did they get started?
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