Rough Edges

Dave lent me a book written by one of his law professors at Chapman University - Rough Edges by James Rogan. It came very highly recommended and I picked it up from him when I last visited. Of course I didn't start reading it until I was in the thick of finals and school work piling up, and then I couldn't put the book down. I think, generally, I'm just a huge fan of biographies/autobiographies because they're real life stories about people that are usually extraordinary. Put in the right framework, you can make any story truly fascinating and that's what Rogan does in this autobiography.

It traces the course of his life as a child living on welfare with his family through his stint as a bartender at a strip joint to his rise as a judge and eventual congressman. What's better is his shift from Democrat to Republican, and conversion from agnostic (?) to Christian.

Because the book isn't mine, I don't have the luxury of underlining throughout, dog-earring pages, and being able to refer back to the book, so I'll include a few of my favorite excerpts here:

Because of our circumstances, the stories of presidents coming from humble backgrounds fascinated me. Yes, the rich often filled their ranks, but those ranks also included plow drivers, tailors, Indian fighters, store clerks, realtors, preachers, reporters, miners, flatboat pilots, railroad timekeepers, surveyors, bookkeepers, insurance salesman, rail-splitters, haber-dashers, and cattle herdors. One future president was an indentured servant; another was a bankrupt; still another hanged criminals. Some came from mud-floored, claptrap shanties on desolate prairies; many had little or no formal education. For every son of privilege to occupy the White House, there were sons of mule traders, drunks, gamblers, grocers, and dirt farmers who got there, too. These stories planted the seeds of an important subliminal truth: People inherit money, but they can't inherit greatness. That comes from hard work, honor, and perseverance. Rich people may get a head start in the race, but marathons aren't won in the sprint.

There is one exhange that Rogan notes that he heard while serving as a DA between a public defender and police officer that is just priceless, but I won't include it here. I will say, however, that I don't remember many other times where I've laughed out louder while reading a book.

My favorite parts of the book are where he talks about the shift he began to make in his own personal politics and also his own adoption of Christianity.

During the 2000 presidential campaign, when Governor George W. Bush was asked to name his favorite philosopher, he answered without hesitation, "Jesus Christ, because He changed my heart...When you accept Christ as your savior, it changes your heart, it changes your life." Like Bush's experience, God began changing my heart when I became a Christian, although in my case the change remains a laborious (and sometimes regressive) work in progress. I still cuss like a stable boy; I'm not particularly remorseful over every youthful indiscretion; I laugh at jokes not told in polite company; and by instinct I much prefer battling enemies to offering them a turned cheek. Each day I fail to uphold God's standards about as often as I breathe.

This being the case, one might ask, "Where's the change?" The change is that despite my failings, I now know certain things. I know that Jesus is who He claims to be. I know God is unimpressed with my resume, titles, or honors. He is impressed by my ability to show unconditional faith, love, humility, repentance, and forgivness - all qualities that elude my almost every time. I know that, despite all this, God created me and He loves me. I know there is eternal life after death, and I know where I'll be spending mine.

That's the real change: I know how the book ends.

And then towards the end of the book, in speaking of the course his life has run, he says:

Despite the bulkheads I've constructed between my Maker and me, God remains. His hands keep smoothing the rough edges while whispering - always whispering - that He catches the falling sparrow. That's His promise from Jeremiah 29:11: "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

So that's why my congressional defeat left no bitterness. Why should it? In Congress, I had a job with predecessors named Jefferson, Webster, and Lincoln; as a bartender, my predecessors were named Zonko, Chi Chi, and Filthy. When one views one's life through the appropriate prism, gratitude comes in easily. Besides, I've learned the only permanent defeats in life are the self-imposed ones.

It's really a great read. There are so many people out there who are just amazing, and James Rogan seems to be one of them worth learning about.