Life

So I recently was bored at the front desk, between the hours of 2-5 AM.  (This happens almost daily).  I went on amazon.com to look at some of their more popular history books.  One of them caught my eye.  It is called Blind Ambition by John Dean.

For those of you who don't know as much history as I do, here is a little back ground.
http://watergate.info/

One of the major players in the whole watergate scandal was John Dean.  He was one of the 5 arrested at the Democratic Headquarters.  He was a confidant of Richard Nixon during this time.  Well, he was eventually convicted for his crimes.  He spend 4 months in jail.

One reason why he is so famous was because he agreed to testify against President Nixon.  He told of meetings that proved the PResident knew, and directed the cover-up of Watergate.

Well, knowing who John Dean was, I went to the Logan Library to see if they had any books by him.  I really wanted Blind Ambition, but they didn't have it.  They did have a book called Lost Honor, by Dean.  So I checked this one out, and began to read.  The book starts out about how, when Dean was released from prison he became an instant celebrity.  Media outlets everywhere wanted the inside scope of Watergate.

Dean apparently had to battle very hard not to let all of this attention go to his head.  He wanted to put Watergate behind him.  He knew he had screwed up, and didn't want to do so again.

Here are some exerpts from the book.  Some of them are very insightful to everyone.

"I think communication is the most important thing in a marriage.  It's more important than sex or friendship or even love, because none of those things can survive without it."

"Do you think that Watergate would ever have occured if Nixon... had gone home to (his) wife and shared what was really going on?  Do you think Pat Nixon would have approved of break-ins and dirty tricks?  For that matter, do you think that men who really know what is means to love, to trust another person and care about another person, could have done the thoughtless and 'public be damned' things that went on in that White House?  No way."

This illustrates the importance of communication.  I do not believe, had Nixon talked over what he was doing with his wife, he would have gone and approved many of the unethical and illegal things he did.  Once someone knows something, they might speak out.  Sometimes finding people to discuss our problems, our ideas, and feelings can be difficult.  Bearing out our souls to someone else can be a scary experience.  I've done it on a few occasions, and it is scary.  Many are uncomfortable doing so.  But it is key to a healthy and happy relationship.

"Watergate has taught me one lesson very clearly.  Those friends who stayed closest to us, worried with us and about us and our future, were not, in a few exceptions, my friends.  The people I had thought friends, people whom I had gotten to know, either because of what they could do for me or what I could do for them, vanished when the trouble started.  Those that we met through (my wife), people we loved and respected and trusted, people who asked nothing but friendship - they were solid.  For true friendship is but another form of love, I now know."

Finding true friends is most difficult.  I don't open up easily, only to those I feel can be trusted.  I try to hang on to my friends for as long as possible.  Once you are my friend, I try to remain yours.  Because if you are my friend, you have influenced me. That makes you a part of who I truly am.  To have a true friend means you must be a true friend.  Being a true friends means that you allow the other person to be themselves.  They can do what they want, and it's ok.  You or they don't have to put on false airs of who they truly are.

Once out of prison Dean went on a speaking tour.  Fearing how the public would receive him, he thought of stepping down from the tour.  In Charlottesville, VA,  he started by saying he wouldn't speak if the audience didn't want him to.  I didn't want to be thought of as immoral anymore.  He wanted to move on, make his image something different.

I believe that once Dean got out of prison he started to repent.  He can't really repay for his crimes, but he could share his experience with others.  He tried to change his public image, how others thought of him.  I have heard that recovering addicts have a hard time with people looking at them and judging them.  Once they try to change, people often times won't allow them to change.  That was one of Deans fears.

Anyways, these are some of my thoughts on life that I am having reading Lost Honor by John Dean.  I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good book to read.