Living in this often dysfunctional American landscape, a place that sometimes feels like it is imploding, or out of control, or nearing the nadir of our democratic systems (the administrative state that Steve Bannon wants to destroy), I wonder if our core political and human rights, the values that America has held deeply for almost 241 years, will vanish from public discourse. I’ll admit that I’m terrified of losing my country to sinister and conspiratorial theories, no more so than yesterday, when I woke up on a peaceful Sunday morning, only to discover that the president of the United States called his predecessor bad and sick for ostensibly wire tapping Trump Tower before the election, albeit without proof. Only a man who has lost control of himself, who lets his emotions take over all things related to governing, could make that kind of unsubstantiated claim. The twitter proclaiming this idea came after he has heard this idea from a rant by a known right wing talk show radio host. By now, we all know that this outrageous statement appeared soon after in Breitbart News and the rest is history.
At the age of 73, I feel too old to take on the machinations of an embarrassing and unconscious American president, a man who knows little about the art of governing a large and rather successful country. Let me get this out first: history documents that we have done terrible things in our country to the “others,” and we have had little tolerance in our mass culture to avert hatefulness and marginalization. We’ve paid a high cost in terms of our reputation for our immoral behavior in exposing deep-seated hatred and prejudice. I hope that all American leaders will continually make amends and espouse the Dalai Lama’s teachings about confronting the negative forces of the human condition: patience, compassion, tolerance.
It bodes no good for the president of our nation and his cohorts to rip apart the fabric of the good deeds and policies that have added to the quality of American life in favor of a mean-spirited and greedy concept of leadership. I’m offended that the shredders of American democracy actually consider and/or want to put their people at risk, either from losing a good health insurance policy, or allowing corporate greed to pollute rivers, oceans and the atmosphere while putting the health of the American public at risk. This kind of leadership lacks intelligence, forethought, and a coherent and moral political ideology, and will eventually reduce America to a second rate country. It’s Canada people are moving to for a kinder, gentler, saner quality of life.
I’m Damned Stressed and I Won’t Take it Anymore
As a child of 8, while traveling to every state in the union with my parents in a brand new 1952 Buick, I listened to my first radio broadcast of the Democratic and Republican conventions. This was the beginning of my political awareness and an understanding from my parents of the importance of staying engaged in all things political and social. Of course, they were Roosevelt Democrats. My parents lived through the depression and Franklin Roosevelt was their hero. In that beautiful blue Buick, I learned that my father voted for Thomas Dewey against Harry Truman. He regretted that vote for his entire life because he came to hold Truman in high esteem. And from that three-month journey visiting every state, I learned to love history. I began to understand what the word civics means. I still remember my 7th grade Civics class with great fondness. That’s when we learned that studying how our government functions can teach us important history lessons.
We liked Eisenhower in our family, too. He turned out to be a solid leader who told us to be mindful of the power of military industrial complex. The general who lead the Army on the battlefields of World War II, Ike Eisenhower, was smarter than most of our subsequent presidents. Although leaders are flawed, they are also capable of greatness in one form or another. The definition of an effective leader is anyone who holds himself or herself accountable for finding potential in people and in exemplifying creativity in the political process. Leadership has nothing to do with position, status, or direct results. Leadership has to do with listening, learning, assessing, and deliberations. President Obama comes to mind.
`What prevents a potential leader from achieving effective leadership status is fear. A person can be worth billions, but if he or she cannot release the fear of failure, or fear of being exposed as a fraud, or being wrong, that potential leader can only excuse, blame, and bully others going forward. Being president of the United States is a most awesome responsibility; in fact, it is a calling. The position of the presidency cannot be reduced to one egoic idea; in essence, self-aggrandizement. Otherwise, our country will suffer greatly from a leader who governs by scarcity instead of abundance.
Our government today, with its limited ideas about leadership is moving backwards to a time of divided classes, to a time when citizens didn’t keep up and assess what is truly occurring in their country, to a time when easy answers seem like a good ideas for complex solutions. The real revolution in America in 2017 requires a different type of courage – resistance, if that is required. It requires a sense of certainty mixed with a healthy dose of uncertainty. It requires a determination to be patient, compassionate and tolerant.
Joan Moran is a keynote speaker, commanding the stage with her delightful humor, raw energy, and wealth of life experiences. She is an expert on wellness and is passionate about addressing the problems of mental inertia. A yoga instructor and an Argentine tango dancer, Joan is the author of 60, Sex, & Tango, Confessions of a Beatnik Boomer. Her new book, I’m The Boss of Me! Stay Sexy, Strong & Smart at Any Age, is now on Amazon.
Visit her website: www.joanfrancesmoran.com
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