Leadership is a quality that every man, woman, and child should strive to possess at some point in life.
If you would ask a roomful of people to define leadership in their own words, you’d likely get a thousand different answers. By the same token, their answers would likely reveal something valuable about their character—and what they believe in.
If, in the long run, some choose not to be a leader, that’s their choice. However, they learn what it means to have a backbone in that journey of self-discovery. You have to know there’s at least one individual in that roomful of people who has the ability to lead, even though they may not show it or “look the part”. That person might be the one who didn’t take any shortcuts and put their time in to even be in contention for a leadership spot.
Others might sit and watch those before them step up to a leadership position, but that doesn’t always mean they took the long, hard way to get there. Nor does it necessarily mean they know how to be a leader, or that they’ll do what’s best for everyone involved. So, where does that leave the person who’s worked day and night to get where they are? Moreover, what does it say about the other person, who has stepped over everyone else to have a chance at the top—or feel they’re automatically entitled to such an honor?
This notion of cynicism and doubt being one of the driving ideals of the upcoming presidential election is scary. It was never just about Democrats versus Republicans—and when Donald Trump officially threw his name in the hat to run for President, the debate was no longer just about politics, if at all.
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At the Republican National Convention, Trump called on Russia to retrieve Hillary Clinton’s e-mail in order to prove that she’s been unfaithful during her campaign. He felt he was right in doing so, but he’s not the first to call Clinton out on this. A lot of people have—and being of sound mind, Clinton has publicly admitted that she lied about those e-mails.
In my mind, that’s the first step towards redemption, no matter who you are. You can tell a million lies—but if you come clean, you can begin the process of restoring people’s faith. I’m not saying it will make everything right and good at that very moment. I’m saying that being truthful will likely say more than any action can.
Not only that, but I believe being truthful is the mark of a true leader.
I think in any position where you have to make decisions, particularly in this election, it comes down to sanity and insanity—and who can best decipher between the two. In this case, all the weight of that decision is in America’s hands. Not some of it. Not half of it. All of it.
So, I’m not ashamed to say that I’m scared right now. I’m scared as an Asian American, but I’m admittedly more scared of being someone with a disability in this country. Trump’s mockery of New York Times reporter Serge Kovaleski earlier this year was downright disgusting, and it didn’t make me believe this election is about “politics as usual”—at least not any more than I already did. In fact, I wrote an article in response to this. I didn’t write it to cause more negative waves surrounding the story, but instead to honestly ponder the question, “Who does America really want as the next US President?”
As I close this new article, I find myself asking that question again. Only this time, I’m asking it bearing in mind the difference between “want” and “need.”
I’m not a political person. I probably never will be. However, this November is not about the blue states and the red states. It’s not about right-wing conservatives—and most importantly, not about “politics”. It’s about common sense, right and wrong, leadership and justice.
If you’re unsure or unhappy about this election, perhaps you should take heed in President Barack Obama’s words: “Don’t boo. Vote!”
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Photo Credit: Markus Spiske on Unsplash
We had a chance to turn things around when Ross Perot ran for president but he dropped out due to Republicans threatening to disrupt an event where one of his family member was going to get marry. Of course, Newt Gingrich promise to bring out real election campaign reform if he and the Republican Party got the control of Congress (which they did) but they never kept their promise.
Thanks Erin! Great read!