The following student report was submitted by Ambassador League Agent Grace H. during the 2008-2009 League.
Mission: Tactics - Final Report
Last September when my mom told me about the Ambassador League I had every intention of avoiding it at all costs. Obviously this did not work. After talking it over a little more with my mom, the guarantee of getting an A+ in government class if I did it and the scholarship upon completion had me interested. I hated the idea of all the hard work and going out of my comfort zone to interview people in authority and expressing my political opinions, but I decided, "What the heck, I have a year to finish it, right? I might as well try it out." So I started off slowly and did the things I found easier and felt more comfortable with at first. Throughout the year I had the mindset that I had a whole year to get this done and there was no rush. I also kept telling myself I couldn’t fit it into my school schedule and I could just finish it up in the beginning of the summer. That was the worst idea EVER! Once April hits every year I’m already looking to the end of school and pumping through as much as I can to get ahead. Well of course I finished school and then remembered… I still had to finish the Ambassador League. At that moment I regretted ever being so relaxed about the assignments. I had an incredibly busy summer and June was the only month I would be home enough to get anything done, besides this week in August right before the deadline. Well I ended up getting it all done, but if you ever decide to join the ambassador league, I have this advice: DON’T PROCRASTINATE!!!!
Other than the procrastinating problem, the Ambassador League was a great experience that has stretched me into things and made me grow. There were only a few times I made an idiot of myself and wanted to crawl into a shell. One time I was going door to door for Tim Fair and I went and knocked on his opponent’s door. She started chewing me out and saying how I was so disrespectful to come to her door campaigning for Tim. I just kind of stood there and when she was done, she slammed the door. It was slightly unnerving but funny at the same time. She must have felt really intimidated by how much Tim was campaigning. Another time I was making calls reminding people to vote and I called the same house twice. I got through all I had to say for the second time and found that the guy had just hung up on me… oops. I would have to say you get some of the funniest responses when making calls. Sometimes people will be all for your candidate and other times they will try to convince you against the person you are making calls for. I even had one woman say, "I don’t vote!" and then she hung up. You experience unique things while you are campaigning. You just have to have a good attitude and be polite no matter how the other person reacts. This is a good life skill even out of the political world.
One of the biggest things I learned through the Ambassador League was how much our Christian faith and government must be intertwined, otherwise even a well-structured government system is hopeless. John Adams once said, "We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge or gallantry would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution is designed only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for any other." It is a wonder to see God's hand at work in the lives of elected officials and the impact He has even in the midst of humans trying to handle things without Him. One verse that was brought to my attention this past year was Isaiah 33:22: "The Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king. He will save us." Sometimes when involved in politics I get wrapped up in all the things that are going wrong. I get frustrated with elected officials and how ignorant the average person is regarding our government system. This verse gives me peace and reminds me that I know the One, more powerful than all, that is in control of every life and all that happens is within His plan. Even though we feel like life is chaos, God is still in control.
Another thing I learned through getting involved is that there is a lot that happens that doesn’t get covered by the media or that I don’t hear about. Most of these are positive things, just the small every day victories to rejoice about. Small battles won within a great war. It is also encouraging to see the many Christian men and women out there fighting to get moral and just laws passed and to fulfill Christ’s desires for our nation. Organizations like the Heritage Foundation, Focus on the Family, Citizens for Traditional Values, American Family Association, Right to Life, and even the T.E.A. party movement are making a big difference through their hard work.
When I first started the Ambassador League I was thinking, "I'm never going to be a politician so why in the world would I need to do this?" Well, through this time I've learned how incredibly important it is to stay involved even if you don't choose the field of politics as your career. It is sad how many Americans couldn’t name their local or sometimes even national officials. Rush Limbaugh says, "The most expensive commodity in this nation is ignorance." If we want a government for the people and run by the people we must stay aware of the current events and circumstances. Thomas Jefferson said: "The price of liberty is eternal vigilance." Through the Ambassador League I’ve learned to try to always be involved in local government and at least be aware of what is going on. I believe as Christians we must have a firm knowledge of our government system and to ignore it is to disobey Christ.
"We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all of our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind of self-government; upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God." ~ James Madison
Even though I don’t plan on seeking out a career in the political world, the Ambassador League was an incredible eye-opening experience that all High school students should have the opportunity to try. Although it was hard at times, the satisfaction of finishing is great and 100% worth the effort. So if you are thinking about joining, DO IT! You will not regret it! "But the people who know their God will stand firm and take action." Daniel 11:32b
