There’s an old phrase about politics my grandpa used to say. It probably originated with someone else, but for the sake of the story I’ll assume it was his own genius. His overgrown eyebrows and American flag suspenders could bring any political conversation to life. The phrase went like this: “Any man who claims to be uninterested in politics is like a drowning man who claims to be uninterested in water.” This may sound like a doom-and-gloom perspective, but don’t worry — the American flag suspenders made you feel like things really couldn’t be that bad.
In any case, it has always resonated with me, and I think it’s fair to say that it applies to a multitude of subjects — particularly when it’s so much easier to uphold our attitude of ignorance, sticking our heads in the sand and calling it a day.
Some claim that this attitude is especially popular within our age group — but the way I see it, everyone has this attitude about one thing or another.
In the past I’ve relied on road trips with my dad to get all caught up on the world’s happenings, in which there would be no escaping the confinements of talk-radio as my own political penitentiary. I eventually became appreciative of these times, not because I could do anything about it necessarily, but because he would always bring it down to a level I could understand and in a way that would make me care. Whether it was about economics, education or foreign affairs, at the end of the day, or in this case a road trip, I actually cared.
Right now we’re hearing a lot about what’s going on in Syria, and we may understand how terrible everything is, but often feel irrelevant to what is happening and therefore have no interest in the follow-up. The problem with this mindset is that though we’re not directly making these decisions, we may someday. We need to be able to look back on what is going on now and allow our current circumstances to guide our decisions in future situations.
To bring it a little closer to home, let’s talk about the Harding inauguration. You’re really not obligated to go. No one will be taking attendance, a couple of classes will be canceled, not to mention all your favorite shows are starting back up. You may not see an incentive to go. But I think it’s pretty safe to assume that when Bruce McLarty was a student and stood in line for a chicken biscuit (or whatever equivalent they had at the time) he wasn’t thinking about when he would someday be the university president and all the cool stuff he would get to do/Instagram.
We tell ourselves to dream big, but in reality we scale down our intentions to inadequate expectations. We forget our relevance to what’s going on in the world and we ignore the fact that we live in a place that enables us to change it. Staying in tune with what the world is talking about and what decisions are being made is essential to being part of that conversation later on. It’s not about listening for your own knowledge and benefit — it’s about listening, learning and letting that knowledge influence your life.
What the world is talking about isn’t always important – some days are less newsworthy than others. Just know that if you come back to speak at Harding, you may be asked about Miley Cyrus in a Q & A session. All I’m saying is it’s good to be prepared.
With that in mind, consider this as a friendly reminder to listen, to follow up and most importantly to strap on your American flag suspenders and learn something.
