Be sure to do some military service too, be an officer.
Organized and disciplined use of firepower is an invaluable tool. That is what the military provides. People who
see this big picture righteously fall in with some branch, maybe end up being some upper level organizer (read: officer), and possibly decide they would rather do nothing else. These last types are occasionally highly intelligent and pragmatic, like Eugene Harlot, but unfortunately some feel they are to be accorded special honors and respect
which they don't get from politicians. Hence the feigned disdain toward politicians. It earns them kudos among their like-minded peers. Most old timers started out in the military, including myself, and go back and forth when it suits their interests.
My advice would be to join a branch and serve in it for awhile. Be an officer. All you have to do is ask and some higher up will assign you a few soldiers. You will keep up with their wellness, message them to make sure they are active, observe their movements and be watchful for suspicious activity, but most of all you relay orders and maintain the chain of communication. Myriad schemes for carrying out these functions come and go with the people who implement them. You can get to know a lot of people this way, and do something useful for the country while you train and figure out how everything else works.
Lately it has become fashionable to integrate new players into the various bureaucratic services more or less attached to the Presidential cabinet. You can distribute moving tickets, send out mass messages, write articles, distribute weapons from time to time, participate in new player education and retention, conduct research into the economy and various aspects of the population to help direct some of the aforementioned. All you really need for that is enthusiasm and creativity, watch the cabinet postings to see what kind of jobs there are and either decide you would like to do one or make up your own, then ask the President or his entourage to let you help.
You can try your hand at being a Congressman by joining a political party. Register on the eUS forum (which you've done, obviously) and thumb through the Congress section to understand what they do and decide if there's something interesting there for you. Contact your party president or his or her staff and state your wish to candidate for Congress on the 25th of whatever month. Those people tend to like it when you have some new ideas, a platform statement, or simply knowing what is going on and what you are getting into. Elections in wasteland regions (without Q5 hospitals), typically come down to party vote moving, so bear in mind that if your opponent is strong and has a strong party backing him you are probably going to be facing a last minute election day battle. It's just the unfortunate way of things. Still, message everyone in your state on the chance that at least a few will come out and vote for you. Be sure to message even those who are in other parties, and ones who cannot vote yet but might be eligible on election day, as well as any of your military buddies or other friends you've made along the way. Oh yeah, every state is the same. It doesn't matter where you run, don't be sentimental. Run where you have the best chance of success.
