249. Talk about politics
I hate politics. I always meant to get out of that particular squad of rats while I still had the time to do so.
It always amazed me that Wally was able to survive, and even thrive, in that cut-throat world. He was, by definition, the very antithesis of a politician. He was more of a public servant than a politician. That's another thing that's always amazed me. Before I actually got into the world of politics, I was of the naive belief that politics was a necessary evil in the world of public service, that the two went hand-in-hand. The angel and the devil on the shoulder, counterbalancing each other.
Being a schoolteacher was simple. All I had to do was teach children and practice simple diplomacy, which has always been one of the fundamentals of any public servant's core qualities. Humility is also a quality that schoolteachers and public servants share and noticeably absent in any true politician.
If you want to shrink your soul to the size of a pea in no time flat, then politics is the arena for you. I've never seen so many self-serving bastards in one place as I have during all the tedious meetings, parties, events, so on and so forth, that I attended as Superintendent of Schools and then Secretary of Education. I got tired of it very quickly, but I stayed because I believed in one of them. He was supposed to change the world, and I think he started out with all the good intentions in the world, which is a better start than those who got into politics for the fame and power. Richard Adar never craved power, but I think he allowed himself to be swept up in it.
Politics is also unpredictable. I originally got into politics to do my part to clean up the Caprica City school district. I could probably sit down, write a book chronicling my journey from schoolteacher to President of the Colonies, read what I'd written, and still have no idea how I got to this place in my life.
I hate politics, but I'm very good at it.
President Laura Roslin
BSG
358 words