It is very easy for us to turn a blind eye to the world
around us, especially if we care too much or only about
our own problem. I have been reading President Bill
Clintonn's "My Life" and learning much about his
character.

Clinton did not have a perfect childhood life, being left
an orphan without a real father and going through
disappointment, pain and defeat just like all of us do.
However, the man was always reflecting and learning about
his life in profound ways. He is appreciative of the
support people gave him, being grateful and thankful for
every little help as well. You can pretend to be
one, especially when you have time to think about what to
write, but throuhout the chapters in his book, Clinton
does it naturally. He does not intend to portray himself
as the center and hero, but rather praise and recognize
people and factors that contributed to his successes.

He is also very good at recalling and recounting details
of things that happened even decades ago.
He writes about so many people, describing vividly about
how they met and interacted and not forgeting to, again,
recognize the positive side of the people he had to put
on the negative side of his continuum. For a man to be
successful at that mangitude, it had to take a lot of
support from people along the way, and Clinton was so
well liked and supported by people around him.

Clever people learn from others, and so did Clinton. He
writes about so many lessons he learned from other people
around him. I particularly like the lessons he learns
from his uncle, aunts and grandparents:

"that no one is perfect but most people are good; that
harsh judgments can make hypocrites of us all; that a lot
of life is just showing up and hanging on; that laughter
is often the best, and sometimes the only, response to
pain. Perhaps, most important, I learned that everyone
has a story--of dreams and nightmares, hope and
heartache, love and loss, courage and fear,
sacrifice and selfishness."

Clinton confirms my observation, saying:

"All my life I've been interested in other people's
stories. I've wanted to know them, understand them, feel
them. When I grew up and got into politics, I always felt
the main point of my work was to give people a chance to
have better stories."

Clinton himself loves reading about great people before
him and his time. Perhaps, that was one of the factors
that made him a U.S. great man!

Did he really care about the poor or those unfortunate
souls he met on his roads? Well, at least he noticed them.

During his attempt to return as Arkansas Governor after
having been defeated, he campaigned hard and yet didn't
forget to notice something about life on the darker side
while he was trying to get votes from workers on the
morning shift:

"I learn a lot on those dark mornings. I'll never forget
seeing on man drop his wife off. When the door to their
pickup opened, there were three young children sitting
between them. The man told me they had to get the kids up
at a quarter to four every morning. After he took his wife
to work, he dropped the kids off with a babysitter who
took them to school, because he had to be at work by
seven."

His further take?

"It's easy for a politician in this mass-media culture to
reduce electioneering to fund-raisers, rallies,
advertisements, and a debate or two. All that may be
enough for the voters to make an intelligent decision,
but the candidates miss out on a lot, including the
struggles of people who have their hands full just
getting through the day and doing the best they can for
their kids. I had made up my mine that if those folks
gave me another chance, I'd never forget them."

Clinton had the reason not to forget those poor people
who had voted for him, and I believe he later developed
to be a real better person to work willingly for no
material or voting returns so as to help the
impoverished.