As the President gets set to deliver his latest State of the Union address tonight, I am reminded of the pivotal mistakes of our society on politics and elections…. that is perspective. Our population has a tendency to lose perspective on what leaders can do and the state of our union that we make up.
Let’s admit it, we are short-term people. We look for a Moses-type figure to lead us out of this land into a promised land of $1.50 gas, close to no unemployment and a thriving economy. I, too, would love to have these things occur. That is not the real issue, however.
The real issue is that we look for a savior in Washington D.C. and forget that we elect a representative of the people.
Leadership in our republic starts at the local level. We were built on the tenants of a republic with local leaders, state leaders and national leaders who represent the people in a checks and balances system. We do think democratic in that we value opinion and allow each other to disagree. Yet, we must remember the reason it was set like this is so that the people could do right with more than a vote.
We can lead, improve and change.
A great leader in Washington certainly helps the people prosper. However, he or she is only a representative of the people, not a king over the people.
If we don’t like the leaders, let’s take a look at ourselves and what we are doing to be the change.
The politicians will continue to play to our angst and short-term worry with rhetoric and speech that soothes our wounds (with a band aid) but real healing comes in the form of intentional leaders leading the people well at every level… not in just saying what they think we want to hear.
Our future is in our hands.
