A Lack of Leadership

It is interesting to note that with all that is going on in the modern world, aside from Tony Blair and George W. Bush, there are very few other commanding voices that we hear on the global stage that seem to penetrate our consciousness.

Why are there so few distinct voices these days? And what does that auger?
Why are we led to believe that only we define what is urgent and imperative aside from certain dissident voices that are thought to preach reaction and conflict. Might it have something to do with the fact that today in the US, dissident voices are not tolerated or listened to.

If we pursue that thread, we see that we seldom even hear from the democratic opposition or perhaps more pointedly that that opposition is seldom covered by a media that seems less free than before, less willing to explore people’s substantive attitudes, more frightened of its very existence.

We are finding that in schools, too.

At a time when younh people should be opening their minds to new thinking and new ideas, there is a strong reactionary and conservative force that suggests that we should be spending more time inculcating our youth with conservative values and religious views. This seems to suggest that the philosophers whose ideas served as the launching pad for this great nation suffer less exposure than the punjabs of materialism, the custodians of social values and the arbiters of conventional thought. What this contribute to is not the expansion of our mind, but defined limits for our personal explorations that establishes barriers to the bold new thinking that has defined this country in the past. The ideas of Locke, Rousseau and Kant take a back seat to Machiavelli, Adam Smith and Samuelson.

So, where do we go from here? Where are the soaring speeches of Mario Cuomo who lift us above ourselves to see our penchant for doing great deeds; where is the inspiring vision of a Delano Roosevelt? Whatever happened to the hopeful future promised under Winston? Have our great leaders abandoned us to a field of mediocrity, a future of lost dreams and hopeless aspirations?

In an atmosphere of “Good work, Brownie,” where mediocrity is applauded, how can we hope for a better vision and a better future?

We have settled on leaders who were fond of Cold War scenarios; suspicions foisted on suspicions; secret games being played out on an arcane board that potentially put us all at great risk.

In a nation where discussion, conversation and dialogue play very little value, the action is subrosa and denied to the majority and in addition to that being un-American, it is also frightening in its potential to run roughshod over the institutions that have defined us these last two hundred years.

What concerns me most is that while our leaders shrink before our eyes, we possess a range of technology that requires restraint, understanding and compassion in its use.

If we fail to rise above our present station, I’m afraid that our driving personal and international ambitions will push us towards a tipping point from which we may never return. It is that fear that causes me to yearn for great leadership that is so far behind what we can see now, thatwe should all consult our stars…

Les Aaron