In the end we are all Americans, disparate neighbors in the greatest country in the world. Is there really so much about us that is different? Are the intrinsic values that are the very fibers of our being so water and oil? These are questions that I find myself staring at the ceiling so often contemplating.
In my studies in leadership, whether during my Eagle Scout trials as a youth or in high school athletics the message was clear---lead by example. Own your words, and be the personification of your values. Not too far behind that philosophy was the message of unification. The terribly tragic thing is that these too fundamental laws of leadership have been abandoned by our political leaders. But I believe this problem is so systemic, that without some concession and acquiescence one can not become the president. The very standards that we hold our heroes to are the very things that we the electorate have allowed to be forgotten by our politicians.
The newsworthy accomplishments and the very crux of the reason to vote for a candidate are suddenly subordinate to something they said in passing. Someone that they met once in their life is what defines a person. Then there’s the off key joke or political “gaffe” that we’ve all heard on repeat, received in some chain email, or inundated on Youtube that is suddenly the measure of man.
This dumbing down of politics is so pervasive that careers have been made of it. The importance of government is lost in the cesspool of primetime politics. I admit that sometimes tax-code and international relations can bore the youth off of our faces. But it’s gone too far. We spent more time discussing “bible and guns” and the idiocy of Reverend Wright’s bigotry and warped national view then the fact that oil barrel prices exploded and our homes lost a quarter of their value. A salacious distraction from what was seriously devaluing the dollar, and the economic stability of America. We surpassed grim benchmarks in Iraq and watched Afghanistan become the most violent place in the world. This is morally reprehensible, and irresponsible. But so is Flavor of Love, Big Brother and so many of the other shows that captivate us.
Then we defer our rationality to paid editorialists who mold the status quo into their opinion or motivation. American’s as a whole, don’t really care about political minutiae. Most only care about what our favorite pundit’s interpretation of the news is, and that’s it. The decision of who we select as our proxy for such an important decision isn’t based on anything other than looks, or who our fathers told us were the bearers of truth.
When you really boil down American’s we all stand for mostly the same values. We all want everyone to have a shot at the American dream if they work hard for it. We all believe in a well funded and robust military that can stare down evil in the world and dispense wrath on those who dare do us harm. We all want our veterans to be assimilated back into civilian life honorably and sensitively. We all want to pay less taxes. We all want a government that doesn’t control the very essence of our freedom like who we can love, and where we can go. We want a government that we can trust. We want leaders we can be proud of and revere. We want the ability to worship without interference. We want safety and prosperity for our children.
I feel that we have given up on possibility and hope, in exchange for paranoia. We need to take back America. Our future, and our children’s future are too important to focus on what the “Primetime Media” tells us we should think. Consider that cable media is a business, and a business is reliant on bottom line growth. They are not in the business of perpetuating truth. There’s not much money in it.
“Right now, there is a whole, an entire generation that never knew anything that didn't come out of this tube. This tube is the gospel, the ultimate revelation; this tube can make or break presidents, popes, prime ministers; this tube is the most awesome goddamn propaganda force in the whole godless world, and woe is us if it ever falls into the hands of the wrong people. . “ Howard Beale from Network.
“This is the story of America. Everybody’s doing what they think they’re supposed to do.” Jack Kerouac
