As mentioned yesterday, I've been reading Tony Blair's new autobiography and finding it very interesting because of the different perspective it provides on many of the events that took place while he was in office. But something that dawned on me this morning, while not exactly from the book itself, got me to thinking.
The thing that's come through most of all in what I've read so far, is that whether you agree with him or not on issues themselves, he was a true leader. Especially in the sense that he analyzed issues, looked for common grounds satisfactory to the largest number of people, then did his best to try to get everyone working together toward solutions satisfactory to all.
He points out clearly that there can never be any kind of agreement at all if opposing sides choose to dissent simply to oppose anything their opponents favor, without regard to whether their ideas have merit or not.
And, that's exactly what we have here. If one political side says black, the other says white no matter the subject, and most often don't really even listen to the question at hand, because all that's important to them is disagreement itself. And while that may be the very basis of what political strife is all about, things still have to get done and problems need satisfactory solution.
So, what's wrong with the picture here, and why don't our problems get the kind of solutions we need where everyone works together? I think the answer is: there's no leader.
Throughout American history it seems that every crisis has brought out the best in leadership, and responsible folks stepped up to the task. That's how world wars were won, depressions reversed and iron Curtains torn down. But, today it all seems quite different. While strong, uniting and motivating direction is not only necessary it's critical, we've got cadres of empty suits from the top down in all branches of national government.
So it seems that we'll continue to wallow and do our best treading water until someone new comes along who cares enough about the country and us to try to get all of us on the same team, if only temporarily, so we can go out and fix it.
That's it for today folks.
Adios
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