We have a problem.
The two biggest facets of this problem
are:
1-In our current system we tend to
almost universally see the presidential election as the most important in the
nation, the congressional elections as more important than state elections, and
state elections as more important than local. In the same vein, we tend to see
government programs as more important than private enterprises and
philanthropic programs, and institutions as more important than families.
2-We tend to think that the
solution to our problems is better, wiser, more civil, prudent and noble
candidates rather than better, wiser, more civil, prudent and noble voters.
In the founding era, it was the opposite.
They saw families
and private entities as more important than government institutions and the
local and state as more important than the national level.
They also felt that
the future of our nation depended not on better candidates but on better
voters.
We have all of this backwards, and, ironically, we tend to
use anger in our home relationships and work as well as in our government
involvement.
More wisdom, virtue and leadership in our homes and personal lives
are missing in too many homes--and nearly all of us can do better.
We may or may not need better candidates, but more
importantly we need to be much better spouses, parents, neighbors, leaders and
voluntary servants in our communities, churches, charities and families.
We do have an election problem, because we have a leadership
problem--at all levels.
The most effective way to overcome this challenge is to
become greater leaders in our homes and communities, at the levels we spend
most time in each day.
Excellent leaders are more likely to use wisdom in
elections, and less prone to being swayed by angry and aggressive
rhetoric.
As long as we put our faith in aggressive candidates on the
attack, we are going to keep being disappointed with the results of each
election. The election of 2012 will be no different.
This isn't to say that milder, less aggressive or more civil
candidates have the answers--not at all.
The solution to our modern American
election problem is simple: Better Voters.
Voters are the hope of our future, specifically voters who
are more calmly and consistently involved in politics on a daily basis both
during and between elections, more locally focused, less emotional and wiser,
less swayed by the media and the experts, more principle-centered, and more
deeply studied in the principles and details of freedom.
Social Leader Daily by Oliver DeMille
