There, I said it.
All of us are born with certain desires, talents, and abilities. As we grow up, those traits will change and all of us will deliberately nurture specific desires to suit our environment. As we enter our formidable teenage years, everything seems magnified. Social pressures act on us in ways we never imagined in our early youth. The drive to be accepted is overwhelming. For some, the transition is easy. Others will agonizingly fight their natural instincts. Still others will turn away entirely to live a life without those specific pressures.
Of course, there are some who were born perfectly ordinary, but through some chain of events were thrust into a roll they never expected. Perhaps never even wanted. They find themselves living a life that is totally contrary to their nature, but find it impossible to resist or leave. In time they begin to accept it, then to like it.
Regardless of how life may have played out for any of them, it is still a choice.
Some people will choose to be politicians, some people won't.
I've known plenty of people who were "born leaders." I think all of us have. Even in grammar school, they exhibited a natural ability to lead. Many of these individuals went on to become leaders in the community or in business. One friend, who others would always naturally follow, started taking karate just before high school. Before he left his teenage years, he was a black belt and the teacher's assistant. He continues to teach at the dojo, and now also teaches at a grade school.
Sadly, I have other friends who fought their natural abilities. When my friend was elected class president in our freshman year of high school, no one was surprised. She had a phenomenal ability to get along with anyone. It seemed inevitable when she was elected Student Body President. But the pressure was simply too much for her. She drifted into drugs. It was a slow and painful process. Before she graduated, she was addicted to meth. She attempted rehab and was utterly unsuccessful. She disappeared soon after that and I haven't heard anything about her since.
Others never seemed to have any natural leadership ability at all, but in the end became extremely powerful. I have a friend who was shy and reserved throughout his childhood. He was never afraid to work, but seemed constantly afraid of human interaction. Through a series of tough decisions (and even tougher life experiences), he began to develop his abilities more out of necessity than anything. The last time I saw him, he was the president of a company and driving an $80,000 car.
I think one of the reasons presidential politics is so fascinating is because of the human drama created by pitting leaders against leaders. For all of the candidates (and that includes those of other parties) we have extremely high expectations. Perhaps unreasonably high. We have spent our lives around leaders of various kinds and we want the leader of the free world to represent all the best parts of all the best leaders we've ever known.
For the candidates themselves, it's an even trickier game. They have spent a lifetime building a reputation. They play a frightening game with their lives: at once trying to convince all of us that they can lead better than anyone while maintaining perspective so they aren't pulled in too many directions. It's no wonder power corrupts. It's all too easy to pander to a crowd's specific desire in an effort to win their respect. Dare I say... power corrupts because we demand corruption? Maybe that's too bold.
Regardless, one thing is clear. No candidate anywhere, presidential or otherwise, fell into the race accidentally. No matter how much natural-born ability or hard work and determination, at some point every candidate must choose to thrust themselves into the spotlight.
There are those who simply may not be able to live up to the expectations. These few don't even enter the race. Perhaps they are avoiding the disappointment of losing. They may just be comfortable where they are in life. Or perhaps they just plain don't want to, no matter how strongly their nature urges them onto the stage. No matter how many people push, prod, and beg, they remain steadfast. In the end, our desires cannot outweigh their desires. We simply can't make the choice for them.
In a way, I feel bad for those who enter the race. They give up a huge chuck of their identity to do it. Before they even run, they must sit down with a branding expert and list every "bad" thing they've ever done in their life. People they had sex with, drugs they used, tests they cheated on, people they wronged, traffic tickets, bad words, wrong turns, long weekends, jobs, friends, money, pets, and products. Their life becomes an itemized list that can be explained, reasoned, or rationalized. Then they hand their list over to all of us to read and scrutinize. Their choices, words, and actions as a candidate all get added to the list for further critical review.
And then comes the moment we're all waiting for. One by one, each of these candidates will do something that is offensive to our own set of values. For the candidates in other parties, that moment will come early. But it will come for every single candidate in every single race. They will say or do something that we find distasteful, even abhorrent. And it won't just happen once, it will happen over and over again. No candidate perfectly fits our view of a perfect leader.
Sometimes, the effect will be overwhelming and unstoppable. Something as silly as a scream can undo everything a candidate has worked for. It is at these moments that we see the real character of these men and women. Do they roll over and give up or do they keep pushing and move on? Does their new explanation, reasoning, or rationalization make sense to us? Are we satisfied? Maybe it's too late anyway. We'll see.
A politician's choice to run (or not run) says more about them than almost anything else. When it comes time to vote, we aren't just picking the candidate who seems inevitable, we pick the candidate who most closely matches our view of what a leader should be.
At least, I hope that's what we're doing.