Political figures inspire through dedicated service
April 2017, Aureus
Being able to inspire and mobilize the masses is one of the hallmarks of a leader — while the specifics of a political ideology or speaking style may vary, every political figure that students at St. Paul Academy and Summit School admire possesses that rare gift of inspiration, expressed through their commitment to service and various personalities.
Their inspiration comes in many forms: the way Barack Obama carries himself, Walter Mondale and Dwight Eisenhower’s empathy, Hillary Clinton’s perseverance, and Emily Anne Staples’ dedication.
Emily Anne Staples, a Minnesotan senator from the early ’70s and senior Cole Staples’ grandmother has long been a source of inspiration for him because of her dedication to the issues that mattered to her and not just the party politics that notoriously grip the U.S. government today.
“She was a Republican for a good part of her life but she changed in the ’60s because of issues like abortion and nuclear proliferation...she’s inspired me with [her] long term dedication to what matters to [her],” Staples said.
Walter Mondale, former Minnesota state senator and vice president of the United States, and Dwight Eisenhower, former president of the United States are also politicians that Staples admires because of their empathy and their roles in pushing forward civil rights legislation in the ’60s and ’70s.
“[People like Mondale have] given up a large portion of their lives to help people who can’t make it better themselves,” he said. “[Eisenhower also] continued [former U.S. president] Harry Truman’s trend of beginning to commit more thoroughly to civil rights.”
Like Staples, Junior Ben Konstan values former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s integrity, along with her perseverance, as an indicator of her strength as an individual.
“If everyone fought with as much intensity, with as much passion, with as much care as she did, everyone would be able to do better for themselves,” he said.
Senior Sarah Wheaton’s admiration for Clinton is also based on Clinton’s perseverance, along with her symbolic value as a woman in politics.
“In the back of my head there was always this idea that [Clinton] would be president at some point and there’s this idea that if a woman can be president then a woman can do anything else too,” Wheaton said.
Wheaton saw herself in Clinton’s struggle throughout her political career and her tendency to never give up. Through her actions and public persona, Clinton taught Wheaton that being inspirational doesn’t necessarily mean having a loud personality.
“As you go about your day to day life, even if things seem more difficult, the idea that there’s somebody who’s going to overcome it all is sort of inspirational,” she said. “[She] made me think that being inspirational doesn’t mean being a huge personality...there’s inspiration from the fact that she figured out how to be the person she wanted to be — even if that meant not compromising herself, but giving a different version of herself.”
Another big-name Democrat both Konstan and Wheaton admire is former president Barack Obama. Konstan sees Obama as an inspirational figure because of his class and charisma. “[Obama is] just class personified,” Konstan said. “He is both someone you would want leading your country and someone you would want to spend time with...he seems like a genuinely good person who cares and is doing the best he can.”
Senior Sarah Wheaton also admires Obama’s patience.
“My inspiration from [Obama] was more about his patience...and how despite the fact that sort of everybody was against him he kept plodding along and kept trying to get things done,“ she said.
But, more generally, politicians inspire others through their commitment to civil service and bipartisanship.
Senior Henry Ziemer is inspired by older politicians that are personally committed to service like Gifford Pinchot, the first chief of the United States Forest Service, Sukarno, the First President of Indonesia, Anwar Sadat, the Third President of Egypt, and Robert Gates, the former Secretary of Defense under both the George W. Bush and Obama presidencies.
“I look at all of these figures through the lens of service. This is an important quality for me as I am interested in pursuing a career as a civil servant after college,” Ziemer said. “[These individuals], at different points throughout their lives, placed themselves and their careers at risk for the sake of their countries.”
Sophomore Olivia McCauley doesn’t find the vast majority of politicians inspirational, but she does believe that political figures who are bipartisan in their efforts to seek justice and who strive to find a common middle ground are admirable.
“[I value] a medium, a mixture between the two that’s more balanced and more reasonable because splitting into small polarized groups...only creates more polarization so I hope that people will start to value a more common middle ground,” she said.
Former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is an example of an individual McCauley finds inspirational.
“I liked that [Sanders] called people out on his side as well as Trump’s side because so much of political discussion is this side versus the other side...he brought a more generalized criticism to all politicians,” she said.
Along the same vein, Staples asserted that his views on inspiration come from politicians from both main parties that strive to improve the quality of life for the people around them.
“[Among Republican politicians], there have been and there continue to be very admirable figures that we can all look up to regardless of their political party or ideology because they’ve striven to make life better for as many people as they can,” he said.
Whether students are inspired by numerous politicians or just a handful, all have shown that inspiration can come in any form and in any way. For politicians in particular, those that show admirable strength of character, dedication to service, and a maturity that allows them to transcend party politics are able to tap into this elusive quality.
Design credit: Diane Huang
Their inspiration comes in many forms: the way Barack Obama carries himself, Walter Mondale and Dwight Eisenhower’s empathy, Hillary Clinton’s perseverance, and Emily Anne Staples’ dedication.
Emily Anne Staples, a Minnesotan senator from the early ’70s and senior Cole Staples’ grandmother has long been a source of inspiration for him because of her dedication to the issues that mattered to her and not just the party politics that notoriously grip the U.S. government today.
“She was a Republican for a good part of her life but she changed in the ’60s because of issues like abortion and nuclear proliferation...she’s inspired me with [her] long term dedication to what matters to [her],” Staples said.
Walter Mondale, former Minnesota state senator and vice president of the United States, and Dwight Eisenhower, former president of the United States are also politicians that Staples admires because of their empathy and their roles in pushing forward civil rights legislation in the ’60s and ’70s.
“[People like Mondale have] given up a large portion of their lives to help people who can’t make it better themselves,” he said. “[Eisenhower also] continued [former U.S. president] Harry Truman’s trend of beginning to commit more thoroughly to civil rights.”
Like Staples, Junior Ben Konstan values former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s integrity, along with her perseverance, as an indicator of her strength as an individual.
“If everyone fought with as much intensity, with as much passion, with as much care as she did, everyone would be able to do better for themselves,” he said.
Senior Sarah Wheaton’s admiration for Clinton is also based on Clinton’s perseverance, along with her symbolic value as a woman in politics.
“In the back of my head there was always this idea that [Clinton] would be president at some point and there’s this idea that if a woman can be president then a woman can do anything else too,” Wheaton said.
Wheaton saw herself in Clinton’s struggle throughout her political career and her tendency to never give up. Through her actions and public persona, Clinton taught Wheaton that being inspirational doesn’t necessarily mean having a loud personality.
“As you go about your day to day life, even if things seem more difficult, the idea that there’s somebody who’s going to overcome it all is sort of inspirational,” she said. “[She] made me think that being inspirational doesn’t mean being a huge personality...there’s inspiration from the fact that she figured out how to be the person she wanted to be — even if that meant not compromising herself, but giving a different version of herself.”
Another big-name Democrat both Konstan and Wheaton admire is former president Barack Obama. Konstan sees Obama as an inspirational figure because of his class and charisma. “[Obama is] just class personified,” Konstan said. “He is both someone you would want leading your country and someone you would want to spend time with...he seems like a genuinely good person who cares and is doing the best he can.”
Senior Sarah Wheaton also admires Obama’s patience.
“My inspiration from [Obama] was more about his patience...and how despite the fact that sort of everybody was against him he kept plodding along and kept trying to get things done,“ she said.
But, more generally, politicians inspire others through their commitment to civil service and bipartisanship.
Senior Henry Ziemer is inspired by older politicians that are personally committed to service like Gifford Pinchot, the first chief of the United States Forest Service, Sukarno, the First President of Indonesia, Anwar Sadat, the Third President of Egypt, and Robert Gates, the former Secretary of Defense under both the George W. Bush and Obama presidencies.
“I look at all of these figures through the lens of service. This is an important quality for me as I am interested in pursuing a career as a civil servant after college,” Ziemer said. “[These individuals], at different points throughout their lives, placed themselves and their careers at risk for the sake of their countries.”
Sophomore Olivia McCauley doesn’t find the vast majority of politicians inspirational, but she does believe that political figures who are bipartisan in their efforts to seek justice and who strive to find a common middle ground are admirable.
“[I value] a medium, a mixture between the two that’s more balanced and more reasonable because splitting into small polarized groups...only creates more polarization so I hope that people will start to value a more common middle ground,” she said.
Former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is an example of an individual McCauley finds inspirational.
“I liked that [Sanders] called people out on his side as well as Trump’s side because so much of political discussion is this side versus the other side...he brought a more generalized criticism to all politicians,” she said.
Along the same vein, Staples asserted that his views on inspiration come from politicians from both main parties that strive to improve the quality of life for the people around them.
“[Among Republican politicians], there have been and there continue to be very admirable figures that we can all look up to regardless of their political party or ideology because they’ve striven to make life better for as many people as they can,” he said.
Whether students are inspired by numerous politicians or just a handful, all have shown that inspiration can come in any form and in any way. For politicians in particular, those that show admirable strength of character, dedication to service, and a maturity that allows them to transcend party politics are able to tap into this elusive quality.
Design credit: Diane Huang