If I Don't, Who Will?

I've been doing a lot of reflection lately.

I've been thinking a lot about one very simple question, with a not-quite-so-simple answer:

Why?

Why did I choose to enlist?

First of all, I must make one thing clear: I'm not asking myself why I did this out of regret. I'm living the dream out here. I'm proud of what I've done so far, and excited about what I will do. But reflecting on that question of “why” is a good way to keep myself focused and on track.

Those who have known me over the past several years know I have put great time and energy into political activism, especially in state and local elections. If it was election day, I could always be found outside one of the polling locations (more than likely, it was the Phillips School across from the High School), and during the campaign season, I'd be organizing and taking part in phone banks, standouts, and other campaign events, working to get my candidates elected. I regarded my activism as a sort of civic duty — one even beyond just showing up to vote. If I really wanted the right people to win, then I had to do everything I could to make sure it happened. I knew I had to get out there myself, rather than expect that somebody else would do it.

Enlisting was sort of the same thing. I certainly wasn't tired of politics — where others might have gotten bored or disillusioned, it actually becomes more and more exciting to me as time goes on. But a string of disasters, including the earthquake in Haiti, flooding in Pakistan, and the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico made me realize there were some problems that required immediate response, outside the realm of political campaigns. A $5 or $10 donation-by-text message wasn't good enough for me. It wasn't a lot, but I knew I had the energy to do more. As much as I loved doing the suit-and-tie politics thing, I noticed that the people at the front of the relief efforts weren't the suit-and-tie type; they were the uniform type. I enlisted because I wanted to be a part of that-- and because I felt that if I had the ability to do it, I had the responsibility to do it.

The more I thought about that this week, the more I realized, there is a fairly simple way of explaining why I enlisted. It's the same mentality that made me such a serious political activist, and the same reason I do, well, just about anything I choose to do in life.

If I don't, who will?

Think about it. What mark do you want to leave on the world? And if you don't, who will?

Get out there.