I am in somewhat agreement here, but I must say that as an activist I have spent many, many hours doing unpaid work for candidates and causes I believed in.

Recently, I have had to draw boundaries regarding my political volunteerism. One example is surveys. I get so many calls from people asking my opinion on a given topic; these surveys take about 30 minutes to complete. There is no compensation whatsoever for participation. I am not allowed to even know who funds the surveys, and the feedback I provide is not made into policy but rather used to sell a certain idea or issue. This is just one activity among many that I can’t justify spending time on anymore.

There is a lot of unpaid work being done in our society. As a full-time mother and homemaker, I know this full well.

Years ago, I spent about 30 hours of my own free time campaigning for a woman, who shall remain nameless, who was running for elected office. She eventually won the election, and has continued to rise in her political career. Since I first spent time organizing for her, she has shown herself to be less principled and more corrupt than the candidate I once thought she was. She treated me badly in at least one of the few interactions we have had in the wake of her rise to power. There are very few things I regret in life, but campaigning for this person is one of them. I’ll never get that 30 hours of my life back.

That said, I do know plenty of people who give freely of their own time to family and community. Many of these people are not privileged, but still find a way to give of themselves in service to the greater good. Being a good citizen in society often means self-sacrifice. I wish there was another way.