Campus Event Commentary-A Night with John Kasich

Earlier this semester I had the pleasure to attend Gov. John Kasich’s talk in Duck Family Performance Hall. And I’m glad I’ve decided to go because it was a great talk.

Different from what I’ve expected, Governor Kasich did not start his talk with some demagoguery as we have seen from candidates in the past couple of years. He actually started his talk by telling personal stories to make the point that politics is not about parties or power but to change people’s lives in a better way.

I did not know much about Governor Kasich other than the fact that he ran against Donald Trump in the Republican Primary in 2016 but lost. But after last night, I’ve gained a lot more personal respect for this man. As a Republican himself, Governor Kasich is not restricted by the boundaries of party politics and at one point said he would challenge his party on the issue of global warming.

One more thing that I’ve remembered from Kasich’s talk last night was he said that one doesn’t have to donate 1 billion dollars to help someone. Sometimes making other people’s lives easier only requires a tiny act.

Although the talk was only one and a half-hour long, some of the qualities that John Kasich showed demonstrate what politics should be about. Being a politician is about serving the people one represents, not for one’s personal gain. We can’t let the current devious political atmosphere misguide us from the true nature of politics and democracy.