C o m i n g from a home of strong religious and political I convictions, I was well aware of the need for in tegrity in government even as a child. My family’s in terest in the affairs of both the church and the state aroused in me a similar interest. I came to share not only their abhorrence of corruption in government, but also their respect and admiration for those leaders who up held the most noble precepts of our nation. My child hood heroes included nearly as many political figures as cowboys and athletes. I’ll never forget the time one of these heroes visited Salem. Our school band welcomed him at the capitol where he was to give a speech. After the program he shook hands with each member of the band and thanked us for playing. This greatly impressed us, but we were really thrilled when we later received personal letters of thanks from Washington, D.C. I framed my letter and placed it among my most prized boyhood possessions. Through the influence of such men and the encourage ment of my parents, I seriously began to consider a politi cal career. Through reading I acquainted myself with great leaders of the past and present and tried to dis cover the secrets of their success. I discovered that the most effective leaders were those who dedicated them selves to the highest ideals and who worked unceasingly for the realization of them. From the enthusiasm of Jeffer son to the dedication of Lincoln, there was a contagious spirit about these men and I soon found myself dreaming of how I might best serve my country. This boyhood dream later developed into an earnest desire to become a politician and all my education was directed to that end. I became more practical as the years passed and began adopting certain rules for political suc cess. For instance, from the 1948 national election I learn ed that overconfidence could be deadly and decided then and there never to take an election for granted; to pre sent my case to the people rather than to the politicians; and to speak to any audience, no matter how small. An opportunity to apply these rules came in 1949 when I accepted a teaching position in the political science department at Willamette University. My campus activities involved me in many issues concerning state government and I soon found myself nominated for the state legislature. After winning the election and serving two terms in the lower house, I went on to the State Senate. In the meantime, I was appointed Dean of Stu dents at the University. All of these honors were highly encouraging to me as an aspiring young politician. But with these outward advancements came a disturbing inner awareness of my inadequacy in the area of spiritual life. One of my major duties as Dean of Students was to counsel college men who sought advice regarding aca demic or personal problems. The tremendous responsi bility of this task was overwhelming. I often felt that the spiritual problems they presented to me were not completely answered in my own life and that I had no right to counsel others on matters which I had not worked out personally. This fact affected not only my position as Dean of Students, but my entire career. If I could offer little real spiritual help to individuals, what did I have to offer the state of the nation or the world? Not only did I wonder about my personal inadequa cies, but I also began to think my purpose in life and my motive for living. This resulted primarily from my con tact with a group of students who had asked me to serve as adviser to a Bible study group. These students, many of whom became my very close friends by their lives and by the goals for which they were striving, brought to mind some of the things I had heard in church about what Jesus Christ wanted of us. When I compared my
TRULY SATISFYING LIFE
by Honorable Mark O. Hatfield, Governor of Oregon
THE KING'S BUSINESS
12
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online