You’ve always been slightly awkward, kinda weird
Upside down and not all here
What’s a-wrong with me and you is crystal clear
Sometimes I’m in a room where I don’t belong
And the house is on fire and there’s no alarm
And the walls are melting too
How about you?
I’ve never been the favorite, thought I’d seen it all
‘til I got my invitation to the lunatic ball
And my friends are coming to
How about you?
Don’t worry, it’s all just a symptom of being human
— A Symptom Of Being Human
Shinedown
I recently received a very gracious and kind handwritten letter from a current county commissioner. The note contained some interesting observations about politics and made some rather charitable comments about me and the political journey many of us take in our lifetimes. The letter jarred an internal notion that I frequently toy with: politicians are peculiar and, on their best day, are strikingly different from the rest. Our group is indeed an odd lot, even though most are well-meaning and consequential.
Like most people, I begin my mornings with a routine, and mine goes something like this. I wake up sans alarm clock and review the overnight phone activity. I hit the gym, read my newspapers, fire off some text messages and emails, make a few calls to other early risers, and go to the office. As I begin this routine each day, I consciously ask myself what I can do today to make a significant impact and what I can accomplish in the next 18 hours. Most of the elected officials I know share this routine, but their thoughts are usually focused on what they can accomplish politically—what they must do that day to move their political agenda forward.
I say this to show that politicians are really born very differently from the rest of the population. They obsess over things that few understand or care about. They see their lives as a crusade and tend to be oblivious to unrelated current events. They can probably talk politics with random strangers for hours. They are unquestionably different, and I don’t know if they should be admired, demonized, lionized, ridiculed, or a little of each.
As I write this, I am listening to what could be the national anthem for political animals, Shinedown’s “Symptom of Being Human.” The lyrics are echoing in my head, “you’ve always been slightly awkward, kinda weird. Upside down and not all here.” And it has me thinking, doesn’t this nail what politicians are? The answer, of course, is an overwhelming yes.
The classic politician is often wrapped up in political minutia, small details, examining what can be and what should be. There is a cadence to their conversations, interactions, emails, and deliberations. Perception and deception meet somewhere in the middle of ambition. These humans are flawed and motivated, preoccupied and committed. They are envied by some, despised by others, and needed by all. A character ripple is found in each moment of every decision.
Every public event, every county committee gathering, every speaking engagement, every vote, and every briefing reveals our truth more and more—politics is awkward and unnatural. It is ever-changing and unpredictable. It is gentle and kind at times, but harsh and unforgiving at others. Politics is benevolent and yet sometimes cruel.
Despite the awkwardness of politics, and I know that it is hard to fully comprehend, there is a wonderment and beauty found in politics. Politicians are a strange collection of ambitions and neuroses, but they are human. Decisions are not just about policy; they are songs of imperfection echoing through offices, council chambers, assembly halls, and in our own living rooms. In that chaos, patterns emerge. Compromise and finality are born.
In the end, I do believe that politicians are imperfect by genetics and imperfect by actions. From the outside, it is messy, absurd, frustrating, and ridiculous, yet necessary. Politics is created by humans who are slightly awkward and sometimes chase aspirations and intentions beyond their own limits. But in the end, they serve a purpose. Perhaps if more of them truly knew what they are and who they are, this political world would be more tolerable and understandable.
