I’m as excited as anyone at the prospect of a Blue Wave this Fall. Hope with all my being that the American people are given a free and fair chance to hold Deranged Donald and this cesspool of corruption to account. Yet if there is one thing you should have learned in the past 17 months it’s that character matters. It is not, and should not be strictly about party. The substance of the candidate matters as well.
If our Republic was functioning as intended it would be more than a wave of Democrats our citizens would vote into office this election year. It would be our best leaders from across the spectrum. True representatives that would not divide this nation into false “us” verse “them” narratives. Leaders who regardless of party will share certain attributes that the great leaders in history possess;
They emphasize collaboration and inclusiveness. They do not fear diversity. They embrace it.
They welcome opposition. They do not suppress feedback or dissenting opinions. They listen and learn from them.
They build a shared vision of the future. They do not think perception is reality. They rely on facts, science and logic to shape perception to match reality.
They own their actions. They do not finger point, blame predecessors or deny accountability for their decisions. They understand that once empowered the buck stops with them. Period.
They problem solve. They do not act a prisoner of circumstance or play the victim. They innovate and experiment with new paradigms to limit or remove obstacles.
They prioritize knowing their people. They do not view empathy as a weakness. They know it to be a virtue.
They extend kindness. They do not bully. They nurture.
They encourage teamwork. They do not ostracize, belittle, or build walls. They promote commonalities, break barriers and build bridges.
They lead with hope. They do not rule by negativity and fear. They grow consensus through transparency and communication.
They create opportunity for all. They do not close doors or instill artificial barriers to entry. They rely on objective measures to reward and promote all those who merit consideration.
They walk the walk. They don’t take positions for convenience or to pander to their base. They are passionate about their beliefs, research the issues and practice what they preach.
They safeguard open communications. They do not silence and threaten whistle blowers and leakers. They protect anonymity by offering hotlines and access to independent arbiters.
In the course of history there have been countless examples of leaders who chose to rule otherwise. Who ruled through fear mongering, authoritarian accountability and slogans. Who preyed on the weakness of the disenfranchised to promote their own agenda. Who gave voice to the extremes.
But riddle me this? Has such a leader ever been on the right side of history? Have they ever progressed our collective interests? Brought us closer to that more perfect union our founders dreamed of?
The answers, I hope, are obvious. This doesn’t end well. Ever
Pathway To Perdition 