George,

What are some of the important things a person accomplished with no or little experience in the endeavor he or she pursued? Begin with life: many mothers had no experience in having a baby or sex before becoming mothers. In the 2008 Presidential Election the rhetoric is turned-up on experience or the lack of experience to be president. Hopefully my caveat on experience will expand consciousness regarding this matter.

Experience is not enough. Just how important is experience as a qualification for a person to be President of the Untied States? What other qualities are even more important than experience for a president to possess.

These questions take on special significance during this 2008 presidential election, primarily, because, more than in previous presidential elections of the last century, the matter of experience is being highlighted as a major asset that determines if a person is qualified to be president. Senator John McCain (R) and his campaign spokespersons have made experience the major issue that has taken preeminence over the Iraq War. Their contention being Senator Barrack Obama (D) does not have enough experience to be president. Obviously, any American with a modicum of common sense knows that both McCain and Obama have enough experience to be president, especially if one believes that the last several presidents had sufficient experience to be president.

Allow me to offer this "caveat" on experience."Caveat" may be defined as an explanation to prevent misinterpretation of experience. Experience is defined as knowledge, skill, or practice from direct observation or participaton. Neither knowledge nor experience necessarily prepares a person to be president. As a matter of fact, a person can be encumbered with the baggage or weight of unnecessary knowledge or the handicap of meaningless experience.

In truth experience teaches thoroughly yet her course of instruction consumes people's years so that the value of the lessons diminishes with the time passing to acquire her special, even priceless, wisdom and fathom or apply the principles she proffers. Actions taken by experienced unprincipled men often prove to be destructive. The end finds it wasted on dead men.

Experience is comparable to fashion. An action that is successful today may be unworkable and impractical tomorrow. Only principles endure. What counts are the principles a person has learned from his experience.

"Practice makes perfect." Not true unless that is intended to mean "practice makes habit." The consequences of bad habits are well known to nearly everyone. Likewise, nearly everyone is familiar with the consequences of good habits.

"No experience is needed" is another axiom or oxymoron that is misleading. Seldom does a person approach a situation or task without bringing experience that is relevant regardless to how miniscule that may be. Drawing upon one's experience is common to both man and beast. There is no need to be a rocket scientist to recognize this truth. However, to reiterate, it is the degree of the relevance of the experience that determines whether or not the experience will contribute effectively to handling the matter being considered.

During my twenty-plus years as a student I had quite a number of teachers. Some of the teachers I learned most from were inexperienced or less experienced than some of my other teachers. Indeed, I was shortchanged by some of my more experienced teachers. I recall one of them who after teaching for twenty-five years was stilll using the same syllabus the teacher who had taught him used. Attending his class was a waste of my time.

Experience is history. History may be used as a hitching post or sign post. However, much too often it is used as a hitching post and obstacle or hinderance to forward movement or progress. The real value of experience is that it can provide the opportunity for a person to learn principles that may be applied in solving problems and improving the quality of life. But if a person refuses to decipher these principles from his experiences then experience may become for him and those he relate to a liability rather than an asset.

Some of the qualities that I want to mention briefly that are more important than experience for a president are: awakened awareness, discernment, i.e., "wisdomized" judgment, compassion and integrity.To these add vision and an appreciation for beauty. These are the qualities that will cause a person to be creative, progressive, sensitive to the needs of the poor and disadvantaged. He will lack qualities that cause him to exercise hegemony and embrace jingoism.

Give me a president with these qualities and I will have no concern about how much or how little experience he has. I will trust that he is capable of learning on the job whatever he needs to know in order to execute his duties as president.

Many of the world's most effective people and greatest achievers have learned on the job. Bill Gates, the microsoft wizard did not have the "necessary" experience nor had he learned at Harvard before he dropped out of school what was necessary to cause him to leap beyond the existing horizons and develop an advanced technology. Had he waited to become more experience or acquire unnecessary knowledge the world likely would have missed out on his ingenuity and productivity that nurtures peope throughout the world.

Uriah J. Fields (Electronic mail, July 25, 2008)