i have a friend named jake. we became best friends in fourth grade. he is one of the most brilliant people i've met. jake has always been a star, he ran for president of cal berkeley while he was there, while participating in his frat (he helped to ban all physical hazing as soon as he earned the status to do so) and playing rugby. he also managed to enter their business school after two years and complete it on time, something that no coach had ever seen a full-time athlete do.
in essence, jake is one of close buddies you are proud to talk about.
upon graduating university, jake wandered around working some sales jobs, and eventually fell into a position as president at his friend's political consulting/online advertising company. hearing about this initially scared me because i knew that working so close to politics can corrupt anyone, especially an inexperienced and optimistic newcomer.
in 2006, they ran a few local campaigns and managed to break some records for what they did. the company took off. jake's share of the private company was assessed at seven figures. he was excited about the future, even considering a run in local office. jake is a fiscal conservative, and is openly liberal about everything else. let's just say he didn't vote for w.
then, a couple weekends ago, i had the opportunity to talk to jake at another friend's wedding. jake had supplied the wine, product of a company that he had created. half of everything the company makes in profit goes to assorted charities. i asked him how everything was, and he said "shitty." i asked why, and he told me that he had left the political company after confronting the company's owner about money that had been going into a republican's campaign.
"i can't stand by and watch that happen," he told me. after having a blowout argument with the owner, jake didn't just walk away. he took almost all of the execs with him.
jake doesn't know what he's doing now. he's been trying to sell the charity wine full-time, and can't think about going back to politics due to the level of disgust he reached. he's in debt, having learned the lesson that good deeds rarely go unpunished.
after hearing everything, i gave my friend a hug, and told him that i was more proud of him than i had ever been in my life. i guess i'm sharing this because of that pride, and because i thought it necessary to share this act of honesty when so many people are going the opposite direction.