We need leaders, not programs.
Gary Loftis
October 05, 2007
“And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.” (President John F. Kennedy, January 20. 1961)
I remember that inaugural address well. America had entered a new era. A new generation was entering the White House, and we were optimistic that we, collectively, could solve any problem ... meet any challenge. Two generations later, we have forgotten that optimism and Kennedy’s challenge. Today, we are looking for candidates to solve our problems for us.
I have been following press coverage of the Democrat and Republican presidential frontrunners’ campaigns for several months. A constant in reporting audience response has been the degree to which this candidate or that proposed solutions to various problems. We have become a nation in search of programs, not solutions.
Candidates of all stripes are clamoring to take stands on issues such as the war in Iraq, healthcare, and Social Security. Some are brave enough to actually propose theoretical solutions, with the firm understanding that the result would be unrecognizable after it passes through the bureaucracy and both houses of Congress.
Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve.” George Bernard Shaw hit the nail on the head, and we are being governed by default -- the default of the American electorate of its sacred responsibility. Abraham Lincoln labeled it “... government of the people, by the people, and for the people...” It has become government of the people, by the political class, and for the special interests, because we have become so preoccupied with careers and personal interests that we cannot spare the time to demand an active part in our own governance.
We do not need candidates with all the answers; we need candidates with the ability to contact and tap into the collective wisdom and ingenuity of the American people. There are roughly 300 million Americans. That means there are potentially 300 million different ideas on any given subject. If we could capture those ideas and evaluate them, there would be some gems that would, individually or synergistically, give us a whole different approach to solving the problems we face as a country.
We need a candidate who can lead us to address issues like the Social Security/Medicare deficit, health care, and a burdensome, overly complicated system of taxation -- issues that threaten the economic bases upon which our republic is founded -- with creativity and optimism. We need a candidate who will get us to find common ground so we can discuss our problems and find solutions. We need a candidate who will enable the great American “melting pot” to become the laboratory in which the great problems of humanity become tomorrow's success stories.
Instead of looking for candidates with solutions, we should be seeking candidates who will get the government out of our way, who will encourage us to find solutions, and who will lead us to implement them.
Copyright 2007, Gary Loftis. All Rights Reserved.
I remember that inaugural address well. America had entered a new era. A new generation was entering the White House, and we were optimistic that we, collectively, could solve any problem ... meet any challenge. Two generations later, we have forgotten that optimism and Kennedy’s challenge. Today, we are looking for candidates to solve our problems for us.
I have been following press coverage of the Democrat and Republican presidential frontrunners’ campaigns for several months. A constant in reporting audience response has been the degree to which this candidate or that proposed solutions to various problems. We have become a nation in search of programs, not solutions.
Candidates of all stripes are clamoring to take stands on issues such as the war in Iraq, healthcare, and Social Security. Some are brave enough to actually propose theoretical solutions, with the firm understanding that the result would be unrecognizable after it passes through the bureaucracy and both houses of Congress.
Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve.” George Bernard Shaw hit the nail on the head, and we are being governed by default -- the default of the American electorate of its sacred responsibility. Abraham Lincoln labeled it “... government of the people, by the people, and for the people...” It has become government of the people, by the political class, and for the special interests, because we have become so preoccupied with careers and personal interests that we cannot spare the time to demand an active part in our own governance.
We do not need candidates with all the answers; we need candidates with the ability to contact and tap into the collective wisdom and ingenuity of the American people. There are roughly 300 million Americans. That means there are potentially 300 million different ideas on any given subject. If we could capture those ideas and evaluate them, there would be some gems that would, individually or synergistically, give us a whole different approach to solving the problems we face as a country.
We need a candidate who can lead us to address issues like the Social Security/Medicare deficit, health care, and a burdensome, overly complicated system of taxation -- issues that threaten the economic bases upon which our republic is founded -- with creativity and optimism. We need a candidate who will get us to find common ground so we can discuss our problems and find solutions. We need a candidate who will enable the great American “melting pot” to become the laboratory in which the great problems of humanity become tomorrow's success stories.
Instead of looking for candidates with solutions, we should be seeking candidates who will get the government out of our way, who will encourage us to find solutions, and who will lead us to implement them.
Copyright 2007, Gary Loftis. All Rights Reserved.
Print
Email
