Dealing with the D.C. Virus

Washington D.C. is an interesting place. The epicenter of the United States' political scene, D.C. is a fairly cosmopolitan, high cost of living city that I've thought about wanting to live in more times than I can remember. Politics is something I detest immensely yet cannot help but to take personally. I think a career in politics could potentially be an exiting, profitable and rewarding one. Otherwise, I could wind up even more jaded or just plain crooked. I get the impression that once you're living in D.C., you're in the thick of it and there's no avoiding the political atmosphere. With the highly charged atmosphere our country is currently in (war, poverty, racism, etc) I don't know if my nerves can handle work of a political nature. I may be seduced eventually and maybe it would work out, but I've read about so many people who have been crushed as human beings by their political aspirations that turned into nothing but excuses for the rotten things they wind up doing. I need to do some good on this earth and the government seems like less and les s of an effective place to do good every day.