Now at the ripe old age of 40, I've seen a lot of things, lived in a lot of places both in this country and abroad and have met a lot of interesting people. Despite the misinformed opinions of some, I have actually become extremely versed and knowledgeable over the years regarding a vast array of cultures, not through book learning or lectures but from actually spending significant amounts of time during the past two decades with individuals from all over the world and all walks of life.
One thing I'm proudest of in my life is the broad range of friends I've accumulated over the years. During brief trips and longer periods of settlement, I've amassed a collection of buddies many people in my life have referred to as anything but typical. On any given day I may mingle with the CEO of a Fortune 1,000 company who grew up in Israel followed by a phone call with an old Navy vet from Pennsylvania who was once homeless until he found his way into my foundation, Save Homeless Veterans.
Naturally the conversations and knowledge gained from those conversations will be drastically different, but I consider each man a good friend all the same. Some individuals I consider to be close friends may park cars or pour drinks for a living, while others own their own publicly traded companies. Not that the way someone earns a living defines the man/woman, but one's degree of employment certainly affects the lifestyle one is allowed to lead, which to some degree or another generally permeates through all facets of that individual's life.
Based on that understanding, I've always been curious about what people "do" for a living. How did you choose this field? Has life forced you into performing the tasks your profession calls for, or is this something you've always wanted to do? Do you like your job/career? What does it entail? These are all questions that for whatever reason I have a curiosity about and at some point in time will usually find myself talking shop with one of the many friends in my bizarre collection about their thoughts and feelings on what they "do" for a living.
The conversation with some regarding the vocation they "enjoy" can be downright depressing, while speaking to others may temporarily inspire me to take up a new career. But one conversation I've never had is to climb inside the head of a career politician and understand how and why that clock ticks. Why did you first want to run for office? What was the career path that led you to the halls of Congress (or whatever seat one holds)? What did you hope to accomplish by becoming a politician? What are your political aspirations going forward? And the one topic I have the most curiosity to understand would be what a typical day/week is like as a United States law/policy maker.
Without ever having had that conversation, I can only imagine what fantastic responses I would likely get from my prying questions. I have to suppose that being a politician must be the end all be all of professions. I'm friends with professional athletes. I'm friends with wealthy business owners. I'm friends with CEOs of Fortune 1,000 companies. I'm friends with valets, waiters and bartenders. And of all the individuals I know in my bizarre hodgepodge of friends and acquaintances, not one of them would go to the limits and employ the type of strategies a career politician does to keep his or her job. Not one of them would seek to avoid any and all responsibility for fear of looking bad and getting "fired." Not one of them who was hired to perform a specific task would adamantly avoid taking on said task until their "contract has been renewed." And not one of them would consistently dance around issues that directly affect the interests of their company for fear of making a decision that didn't make EVERYBODY happy. So by the shear simply fact that our United States Congress along with our esteemed commander and chief refuse to act on anything as the midterm elections loom, I can only assume that being a politician must be the greatest job on the planet.
As the country grinds through another work day in September 2014, we as a nation are facing some daunting issues that to one degree or another have the ability to affect each of our lives. Several militant factions have nearly the entire Middle East region in turmoil and are verbally threatening the West on an almost daily basis. Our porous southern border, although not a front-page story any longer, is still a critical issue on many levels with no reasonable solutions or even attempts at a reasonable solution in sight. And a number of scandals related to bureaucratic incompetence and government intrusion are still ongoing at barely a snail's pace, and the only thing any of our "esteemed" leaders seem to care about is keeping their phony bologna jobs come this November.
By refusing to make decisions and lead this country on the many tough issues we're facing, you actually are making one. You are putting your personal aspirations to be a career politician ahead of doing the job we the people have tasked you to do. Is a career in politics so unbelievable that you would sell your country out to protect your own professional hide?
As the nation looks for direction on many fronts, the current congressional recess marks the earliest pre-election adjournment in 50 years. To me as an American citizen, that is absolutely unacceptable and leaves me trying to make sense of your absence with one of three explanations: Either you as a Congress are afraid to lead, you are incapable of leading, or you're just too selfish to lead. As I try to put my finger on exactly which one it may be, I have a sneaking suspicion it's probably a little bit of all three. The American people did not elect you to campaign; we elected you to lead.
Media wishing to interview John Rocker, please contact [email protected].
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