Book Review: The Point of it All by Charles Krauthammer

While home in Minneapolis I read The Point of it All by Charles Krauthammer, the 25+ year conservative columnist in the Washington Post. You might have seen him as a reasonable voice on Fox. He's always been an interesting figure for me - a principled conservative, suffered from a spine injury at 22 that left him as a paraplegic. He continued to graduate from Harvard Medical School and was a practicing psychiatrist until 30 when he abruptly changed to become a columnist. Here are the two passages from his speeches that I particularly enjoyed:

"Don't be afraid to choose, and don't be afraid to start all over if you have to. TE Lawrence one said "nothing is written" And by that he meant: Life is open, everything is a choice, nothing is inevitable. So the message I have is don't be afraid to choose. Choose what you love. And if you don't love what you've chosen, choose again."

And then this about making the career change

"But because I felt history happening outside the exam room. That history was being shaped by the war of ideas and I wanted to be in the arena. I enjoy intellectual combat, but I do not live for it. I wanted to be in the arena because somethings matter, somethings need to be said, somethings need defending."