Political involvement – of any kind, in any place, for any reason – involves opening yourself up to criticism, embracing vulnerability for a high purpose, and doing something risky. That said, the best and hardest things we do in life…are things we have never done before.
If you think about it, the greatest sense of challenge, purpose, and accomplishment is traceable to things new and risky, never tried before, ending in good results.
Early in life, I was not a good reader. My mother – by some miracle – was a remedial reading teacher. She sat me down in third grade, age eight, and forced me to read every single day after school.
For me, playing outside was the thing. So she made me read for half an hour on the clock, big chair, no moving – Reader’s Digest, before going outside. I hated it.
One day, when she said, “Okay, your half hour is up, you can go out,” I said, “Let me just finish this story …” I was hooked – on learning. She had done it.
In high school, the thing took hold, hunting for newness, risky but trying it anyway. By then, reading was fun. Math was not. I pushed in higher math, did not get great grades, but kept at it. Same thing with languages. For some, easy. Not me.
In time, little risks taken produced opportunities for bigger risks, which in turn did that again, over and over, until I finished college, a graduate degree in economics, and used Latin in law school.
Physically, it was just the same. Take the risk, miss the ball, miss the tackle, get up and try it again. Some people are naturals. Not me. Still, you have to try. Trying, you figure things out.
While I was adequate at baseball and football, nothing shone, maybe my work ethic. Still, I played. Coaches gave me a chance. One day, I realized I liked running. As a distance runner, you do not need hand-eye coordination, just stamina and focus.
From cross-country, my thinking expanded. In college, my feet started taking me on longer and longer runs, until I imagined running a full marathon.
These days, many run them, but back then, fewer, and for me, it was another “what if” – so I started training. Why? Because the best and hardest things in life are challenges never tried before. Could I finish? Would I hit the wall? Legs give out?
Who knew? Toeing that first marathon start line, I had never run more than 20 miles, let alone 26.2. But if you do not try, you will never know. At 20, I ran my first. Just 3:10:17, but counted for me as a win, a thing never tried, now done.
In time, I ran another 11. For decades, running preserved my sanity. Then, I blew a knee, too much distance. That, too, was learning. Now, cycling was the new thing.
Mountain biking is not bad on the knees, it was new. Pushing the horizon keeps it new.
If you think about the principle – that the best and hardest things we do are what we have never before done – it applies to more than schools or sports. It is life.
When we start dating, move away, get married, have kids, travel, push the travel itinerary, find a higher mountain to hike, ski, or scale, challenge ourselves in tougher weather, rougher seas, or aging, keep the challenges coming, we are on it.
That is where politics comes in. It is risky, especially now. For many, the idea of civic engagement is happiest when non-controversial, delivering meals, giving blood, baking a supper, running a scout troop, or coaching, with little risk.
Those are valuable, worthy, and necessary undertakings. They keep cities, towns, and communities together and support others. But enough? Do we grow or mark time? Are we avoiding risks when society itself is at some elevated risk?
Political involvement – of any kind, in any place, for any reason – involves opening yourself to criticism, embracing vulnerability for a high purpose, and doing something risky. Yet the best and hardest things we do in life…are risky.
That is why my encouragement is to consider it. Reach outward, higher, consider the risk, try to make that difference, with your life experience. That is one reason I find myself sitting in a chair reading again these days, about the challenges which will face the next Maine Governor. When the need is great, purpose high, mission hard, training done, it is…time to run.
Robert Charles is a former Assistant Secretary of State under Colin Powell, former Reagan and Bush 41 White House staffer, attorney, and naval intelligence officer (USNR). He wrote “Narcotics and Terrorism” (2003), “Eagles and Evergreens” (2018), and is National Spokesman for AMAC. Robert Charles has also just released an uplifting new book, “Cherish America: Stories of Courage, Character, and Kindness” (Tower Publishing, 2024).
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