When any of us are asked to name the ten best and most positively influential people living in America, we are most certainly stumped; just try for five. And this is all in the context that we have the most far-reaching access to information ever in the history of mankind through television, the Internet and print.
Either far more stupid people are being born in this country, the more intelligent ones are hiding under rocks or in caves, or people are not taking advantage of the wealth of information to inform themselves and make good choices at the polls. Well, we all know what that answer is.
Every day we hear about incredibly dumb decisions made by politicians and judges in cities and states everywhere, including Washington. The lunacy runs from those who refuse to do anything until their backs are against the wall, to those who have knee-jerk reactions and don't hesitate to use their powers to oppress, oppress and oppress. Yet, we seem to be content to shake our heads in amazement and shrug these bodacious things off. Why?
We do have a very bad and contagious crisis of irresponsible leadership across our nation. At the same time, there is a national consensus of opinion: the country is going to hell in a hand-basket. My assertion is that we can no longer afford ourselves the luxury of sitting on the sidelines and carping about it; we simply have to do something.
Both sides of my family tree go all of the way back into the 1600's in this country. It was drilled into me from an early age that living in the greatest nation on the face of the earth requires a personal commitment to give back to the common good in some manner, whether it be as a crossing guard for the school, active membership in a community service organization, a spokesman for American ideals, a campaign worker or as an elected official. Those who did so would be admired and suffer the benefits of "what goes around, comes around;" those who did not would inevitably become drags on the country.
While good, strong leadership is essential to the well-being and sustenance of our country, good leadership starts at the grass roots level, with people like you and me. We're the ones who have the duty to step forward and initiate the process of returning good and proactive leadership to all segments of our governmental structure.
If we won't do it, who will?
That's MY AMERICAN OPINION, respectfully submitted.
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