Political with a purpose

By Erin Kauffman Taylor

COA has spent a lot of time asking our members to engage in the political process. We’ve highlighted many ways to become involved and cited countless reasons to engage. Many have chosen to take up the mantle of legislated optometry and engage with their lawmakers on serious issues affecting the profession, but still others choose to sit back and remain distant from the direct democracy which impacts not only your livelihood but also your life.

This disparity caused me wonder about why some people choose to be involved and others do not, which subsequently led to a reflection on my own initial foray into the world of politics.

As a sophomore in college, I held little interest in politics – campus, city, state, federal – beyond voting in elections, I was completely uninterested in the entire process. Having recently returned to the area after being away for a few years, however, I was interested in making new friends and feeling connected to my community. By chance, while waiting in line to see my admissions counselor one afternoon, I happened to see an ad on our school bulletin board requesting campaign volunteers for a local woman running for state Assembly. I was a full-time student with a full-time job leaving little time for anything else, but campaign volunteers were only needed for a few hours on the weekends – and this campaign was paying cash for the volunteers who made the most phone calls or hung the most campaign signs. Extra cash in my spare time, with the opportunity to connect with my community and maybe make a friend or two while supporting a woman running for office?! This was a program I could stand behind and, maybe, even enjoy!

I met the woman running for office and I liked her. I liked where she stood on issues that mattered most to me, and she ran a good campaign with a team who worked hard but also (miraculously) made phone-banking and precinct-walking fun endeavors. I dialed a lot of potential voters and hung even more campaign signs. I made a couple of good friends with whom I’ve campaigned for countless other candidates over the years. After feeling a bit like an outsider, I was finally really connecting with my community.

My candidate did not win that election or the next and, while I was disappointed because I’d come to really believe in her, I was grateful for all of the things my involvement with her campaign brought into my life; new experiences, the building blocks of my future career, and friendships that have lasted to this day. As an added bonus, this same woman now holds the most important, non-elected position in the California State Assembly and she still remembers me from her campaign fifteen years later.

I was a reluctant participant in the political process and when I did choose to take the first step into that world, it was for reasons entirely outside of wanting to make a difference in the world; I was just looking for a new way to meet interesting people. Becoming involved in politics doesn’t need to happen because you feel an over-arching connection to a big issue or because your professional association tells you it’s the right thing to do. We each have our own reasons for making daily decisions in life and political involvement needn’t be any different.  Find your purpose to pursue politics in any form, and make that your guide. You might even stumble on some fun along the way.