Gazing in the Mirror

October 18 - Call To Leadership

To lead people, walk beside
them ... As for the best
leaders, the people do not
notice their existence. The
next best, the people honor
and praise. The next, the
people fear; and the next,
the people hate ... When the
best leader's work is done
the people say, 'We did it
ourselves!'
~ Lao-Tzu

Every man becomes his own
philosophy, his own institution,
and what he has is conditioned
by what he is. ... he has to
have faith and confidence in
his own interpretation. ... You
are married to your soul for
better or worse, for richer or
poorer, for life and death now
and forever;
~ Ernest Holmes

A couple of nights ago, we had the 2nd of 3 presidential debates. These happen every 4 years in the United States and 2012 (when this was written) was one of those years (and in 2019, we are entering another such cycle). I actually think all the talking in the primaries and during the debates is a good thing. It's really about the only time that both sides of the duality of our polarized politics manage to get together to have a "national" conversation about the state of the union and what we all would like to see going forward. On our drive to the city that year, we listened to a lot of interesting commentary on how each of the two candidates did in the most recent debate and whether their policy suggestions have any validity or what their "track records" have been up to this point. On the way home from the city last night, my husband and I had one of those rare in-depth conversations that we actually enjoy but which our kids rarely allow us (but last night they were being entertained by a video and we did have to talk louder over in order to hear one another but such is modern life).

One commentator I read on-line (a former educator, a veteran, author and a law enforcement officer) says "Those running for president have been listening to the diversity in the voices of the people. Voters are trying to pick a candidate capable of uniting the nation and solving the many problems. So, who has the magic touch ? Your guess is as good as mine, but it seems evident from some of the polls that many voters are unwilling to give the incumbent president four more years to move us 'Forward' into more red ink." At this particular time in history, it was pretty easy to guess who this person was actually supporting. Both my husband and I were already "decided" that particular year but generally we could easily be considered independent voters and that was evident in our conversation last night.

It really can't be "fun" to be president of one of the more powerful countries in the world – though sometimes it might be – the parties, the concerts, the travel – but other times when the burden of responsibility is to send a nation's sons or daughters off to possibly be killed fighting some war that few of us truly understand or when being assessed the blame for whatever the president actually had little control over - including unexpected, unfortunate events or knowing that a lot of the nation's people can't get the medical care they need or the food their family needs or have lost their home or become unemployed – it can't really be called "fun" to be in such a position of leadership.

Money doesn't actually seem to be the true motivator either – one candidate doesn't seem to need any more and the other has a history of taking on the causes of "community" – but perhaps whoever runs for such a high office is yet motivated by ego or simply seeks to achieve whatever the next best thing "out there" might be or even perhaps the best of those who seek high office actually think that they might be able to make a difference. In the history of the United States of America some of our presidents have actually have left some legacy behind during their time in office (examples include Franklin D Roosevelt who ran to end the Great Depression, Thomas Jefferson who doubled the size of the country as president with the Louisiana Purchase and Woodrow Wilson who moved the country into the League of Nations). Mostly it seems to me that a president really can't do "a lot" through his own solitary effort to change things. If there is hostility or a lack of cooperation, nothing a president tries to do can change the circumstances when others seek to block any change that might occur.

So in that long and interesting conversation with my husband that particular night, I don't think we ever really came up with a true answer to "why anyone does it" but the trends toward "individual" and "community" which sometimes tug and pull at one another via party politics seemed to truly describe how the varieties of ideology serve to separate the two party's interests in our country. Individuals may be motivated to improve their quality of Life and businessmen may seek to utilize all the resources available to them (materials, labor and consumers for their products) but often without regard for long-term sustainability or negative impacts. There are concerns that IF the general welfare of ALL people were considered that would somehow serve to un-motivate people to put forth any effort on their own behalf as in the expression of common human nature some will always prefer instead to take what is given and make do with that.

In my own experiences leadership has seemed to come to me unsought but naturally for the most part. Only once during in my first year of high school did I seek it directly and I succeeded in that effort. The other times that I have been pressed into some kind of leadership role, I've been asked to take on and have accepted that responsibility. Someone has to do it and that often seems enough of a reason to give of one's self to the need. My nature is consensual and not forceful and therefore my idea of leadership is only by example through my willingness to share the details of my life, the choices I make and the outcomes of these decisions in a rather public way. I have never believed I knew what was best for any other person but I'm entirely willing to explore their options with them if they ask my opinion. I am not afraid to point out weaknesses I may perceive and I'm ever willing to affirm the good that might not be taken seriously by that person because they are too up close and personal with the situation to identify those for their own self.

~ perspective

I know that greatness is already
present in the people I come in
contact with and I am happy to
gently encourage the expression
of that greatness in another.
I try always to allow the other
people in my life to find their own
way and yet I am also willing to
share my own perspectives whenever
they are asked of me.
Go where no path is and discover its
usefulness for yourself – that you may
lead by sharing your experiences with
others and hear without judgment the
details of another person's own path.
The cost of leadership is accepting
responsibility.
Personal examples are the best tool
we have to share concepts without
the resistance that might not change
an unhappy path to a happy one for
another person.

#community #consensual #debate #elections #example #experience #ideology #money #motivation #politics