okay so i have a dilemma and i wanted some advice on what i should do:
so i am a sophomore in high school in the dallas area, and i have been offered a really good internship with a suuuper reactionary, conservator senator. i disagree with almost all of his policies and think he is abhorrent, however (and i recognize how horrible this sounds just please hear me oit) working with him would give me an entry point into politics, which i want to major/ work in in the future.
just for a little more context, the dallas area has super a competitive college application and high school environment, so this opportunity feels in a lot of ways like it could be really good for me? i would get to make connections with a lot of people in the state government, get a rec letter from the senator, and have a good shot of getting to work with him in the future, particularly in the Senate Page Program. additionally, there is no large opposition/ progressive movements in my community and which everyone ones exist either (a) are small scale and don’t take high school interns or (b) only accept high schoolers from prestigious highland park private schools.
pls help me out!! i feel like a sell out, but do i have to agree with a politician to work with him??
Many years ago my first job out of college was working for my Congressman who was a Republican and I am a Democrat. But he was a moderate, and I probably agreed with him on 75% of the issues, including the most important ones to me, like being pro choice. If we had disagreed on 75% of the issues, I could not have worked for him. Also, in today’s political environment, the connections you make working with this politician if he’s so polarizing may not help you make connections on the other side of the aisle.
During summer breaks in college I also worked for a local politican of the opposite party (the other party was more prevalent in my area too). I don’t recall the office being particularly political though and I mostly helped constituents.
Both were very positive experiences for me but I think you need to consider how different your views are from this politician, even if you’re not working on policy or the campaign.
I have worked on projects with many different political viewpoints over the years. I say try it out if it is of actual interest. Resign if it does not work out.
Would you be working in their local office or campaign office? Those are very different venues and vibes.
Do you plan to go to UT where the statehouse is right there and you would want an internship there?
Keep in mind most college applications have no place for a politician or supervisor to be submitted. Most scholarships do not have an option for that either, so do not do it for that reason.
If it were my older child, who by the way is conservative, and they were offered an opportunity like this for a progressive Senator, i would advise them to take the internship. In the end you are learning and gaining experience and that should be the goal. Minus other better opportunities it seems like a great opportunity for someone interested in politics. You don’t necessarily have to agree with their views to work in their office or intern for them. It’s not selling out to take this opportunity. No one is forcing you to believe what they believe. Take the internship, learn as much as you can, make dome connections and move on.
I had a couple early legal jobs where I was not politically aligned, and they were very interesting experiences.
That said, I think they did sort of brand me a bit on my resume in a way that was inaccurate. Not ultimately harmful because I was not interested in a political career anyway, but I do think this is an issue to consider.
Also, in one of those jobs they basically identified me pretty quickly as not one of the true believers (long story about how I got the job, but basically I was hired by a regime that got replaced by the time I was working, and even then I think I got hired based on a recommendation from a professor with whom I was also not aligned, but neither were my classmates and I think I was one of the few students he actually liked anyway).
Anyway, once they realized I was not really one of them, I got sort of pushed off into not particularly high priority projects. Meanwhile my office mate, who very much was a true believer, got put onto the really core stuff going on in the office.
I didn’t resent it because again I was not actually interested in a political career anyway (and definitely not with these people). But I think it is worth considering how much it will really help you advance your ambitions to work in a political office where they realize you are not in fact part of their political tribe.
Again, I found it interesting. But useful for a political career? Not sure about that.
You are a high school sophomore, not a college student. You have lots of years to get interesting and varied experiences before you enter a career related to politics…if you do.
I will say, around here, the high school interns are not doing policy related work. So don’t hope for that. You can still gain valuable experience seeing what these offices are like…and especially during an election year (even if that politician isn’t running). So…I’d say…go for it.
Do you disagree on a core issue, such as reproductive rights for women, which would make you feel very uncomfortable should it be brought up during conversation? Is there a particular thing he has said or done that you feel is morally inexcusable?
You were able to get this opportunity, and you can probably get others. You describe the person as abhorrent. Just remember that the internet never forgets. Should your future be in politics, your stint with a politician you abhor might come back to bite you, despite your own personal stance on issues.
I personally could not work with someone whose views are repugnant to me. Differing views are fine, but again, you used very strong adjectives. I was once on a committee when someone surprised me by stating a view I felt was completely objectionable. I found an excuse to resign from that committee as soon as I could. Maybe I was copping out, but I didn’t feel it was productive to myself or anyone else on the committee to work alongside him. His view made me very uncomfortable. The issue was that no one else seemed bothered when he made his statement and sort of nodded in agreement. Are you prepared to bite your tongue in a similar situation?
There are lots of “OTOH” reasons for you to do the job. I’m actually quite interested that you got the job at all, given your personal feelings about the person. Is that a quality you possess which makes you well-qualified to work in that environment? I get a sense that part of the attraction to the position is that you would sort of be the mole, able to use what you learn to give you insight into other viewpoints, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Perhaps you have the right disposition to work in such an environment. If you do it, be ready to hide your true feelings.
If you find this person’s views abhorrent, consider that working for him would help advance these abhorrent views, including potentially helping them become enshrined in law. Is that worth whatever resume value this might provide?
I knew a liberal who clerked for a conservative SCOTUS justice in 2000 and ended up helping write the Bush v Gore decision. That would haunt me.
Just curious - as a HS Sophomore, how did you come across this opportunity?
I’m assuming you didn’t apply because most would seek opportunities with people who they support.
My overall concern is and it’s not 100% like this - but if you were a Republican operative, you might bounce across campaigns or the day to day offices of Republicans over your career. And the same if you were a Democrat.
There are some folks who cross over - and some are consultants that simply take a job.
And perhaps as a 10th grader it doesn’t matter - but long term, is this a well known name - and if so, if it’s on your resume, might it impact future opportunities you want?
Getting opportunities in politics are not easy - so in that sense, I say jump in.
On the flip side, if it’s going to be on your resume, it could very well give pause to future employers (if they know the name of the politician, etc.).
I would weigh both sides, etc. and make your best decision.
I agree. I hire people frequently in my position, and if I see an overtly political job on a resume I tend (maybe unfairly) to assume the applicant’s personal beliefs align. If this particular politician is an extremist, it’s likely future employers will be making assumptions about you. It isn’t fair to do so, but hiring decisions are made by humans, and humans are assumption-making masters.
Also- if you strongly disagree with your employer, you won’t be giving it your effort and might not even get a great recommendation from it.
I say don’t do it. The connections you make will not help you get where you want to go. I’m sure there are campaigns for people you are more aligned with that you could volunteer for. They might not win but working on a campaign can be valuable experience too.
There is value in working with people you disagree with. Everything is (or can be) a learning experience. Senator got elected, meaning at least 50.1% of people in your district agree with that person.
As adults, we work with people we don’t like and do things we may not enjoy all the time. As a HS kid, doesn’t OP want to see why they may disagree with their State majority? What is it about the Senator that people support, even if OP doesn’t.
As for the comment on SCOTUS, there is not a liberal I know who regretted clerking for O’Connor.
I think this is true if you just disagree with someone. But the OP says the politician is abhorrent. Maybe that is youthful hyperbole. If so, I’d agree with you and encourage the OP to moderate their language. But if they truly find him (or his policies) abhorrent, I think they should stay far away.
There are politicians I disagree with, and I could absolutely see learning from working with them. But there are other politicians whose entire world view or life ethic is so antithetical to my values that I would need to stay away.
Well…this is an election year, and many folks would welcome a volunteer to work on their campaign. Perhaps you should reach out to folks who share your beliefs. I’m sire you could find an opportunity to help.
The more senior the politician (not completely clear to me if this is state or federal level), the less impact you’re likely to have (or responsibility). I do believe there’s great learning to be had from working for someone with whom you have profound disagreements but there’s plenty of time left in life for that and I’m not sure it’s something I’d voluntarily opt into, especially not when you’re a sophomore.
For what it’s worth, local politics are also a fertile learning ground and a place where you could have real impact. And in a Presidential election year where national contests are sucking up a lot of resources and air time, I bet you could find a local school board or council race that would happily engage you as a volunteer.
More thoughts in no particular order:
what kind of rec letter could this person actually write for you? would they even have a chance to get to know you? if not, is there anything material they could say? if they did know you, wouldn’t they eventually get to know your actual views? etc. your case for taking the gig seems built on a hypothetical scenario that seems a bit far-fetched.
I think this sounds really different from, say, a clerkship – which is a prestigious, competitive, structured learning opportunity that is at least in theory nonpartisan.
Edited to remove apparently objectionable real-life story about family member who struggled to remain true to values while working in toxic political environment.
effort and might not even get a great recommendation from it.