It certainly does not need more of the same kind of leaders – the Old Boys’ Network – whose thinking and acting are responsible for America’s current state of chaos, disunity, violence and on the road to Fascism.
If our current condition as a nation is a result of the best we could have done, then surely it is time to do something else. (Einstein and innumerable moral philosophers)
Winston Churchill said: “Sometimes doing your best is not good enough. Sometimes you must do what is required.”
As implored by John Wesley nearly 250 years ago, I will follow my conscience in what I consider to be in the best interests of the people. I will say nothing ill, and certainly nothing untrue, about the contenders. People in each of the major parties, Republicans, Democrats and Independents, some of whom I hold in very high regard, tell me that their candidate is best suited to help rectify America’s status as a Flawed Democracy and reverse our slide into Fascism. But we must attend to all factors that have kept the country from becoming a great nation from its founding: 248 years since The Declaration of Independence was adopted, and 235 years under the Constitution.
The preclusion of our advancement into a FULL DEMOCRACY, ensuring that the Democratic principles apply to all the people, has been America’s Truth forever, flowery political rhetoric and promises notwithstanding, because our Real Rulers, members of the Plutocratic Party, have deemed, implicitly and explicitly, that the condition of America is the way things ought to be, even imputing the origin of the dictum to their God – male dominance in all things.
Tragically, the reigning coalition has not been effectively challenged by their peer leadership groups, or held in restraint by the government’s so-called “Checks and Balances Doctrine,” due principally to a serious disparity in the makeup of the membership in leadership cadres that has endured in family life, government, politics, corporate America and religion. With especial regard to the exceedingly powerful influence of religion, it wasn’t until the fourth century that men distorted Holy Scriptures to perpetrate their dominant positions within the
religious hierarchy and society.
Also complicit in this tragedy, perhaps equally so, is the voting populace, including in particular those who have neglected their civic responsibility to exercise their right to vote. If all of the citizens of voting age in America exercised their enfranchisement right and responsibility, FASCISM, AUTOCRACY, DESPOTISM, TYRANNY, BRUTAL ECONOMIC DISPARITIES, INJUSTICE, and UNFAIR LAWS would be impossible.
Although the current candidates, as usual, had to assume a party label, this election, as never before, is not about traditional party politics, it is about the soul of the nation, which carries the blueprint of our highest and lowest purposes and ideals. Clearly, we have been treading our path inexorably toward our lowest purposes and ideals.
However, if we the people stop our ritual endorsement of dictates from political charlatans who have profited by fragmenting Americans and pitting us against one another — White against Black; men against women; rich against poor; the majority against minorities of all ethnicities — the treacheries will collapse and the people can save Roanoke and the nation.
We need leaders who know what it takes to advance as well as understand the real plight of the people who are still victimized by America’s rulers.
During my 67-year working life, I was supervised by women, worked as a peer with women, and supervised women; and I learned some valuable truths about successful women that were ascertained later by research studies:
Women leaders: tend to listen/hear/understand better and, therefore, are more persuasive than their male counterparts; learn from adversity and carry on with a commitment to the mission; are not driven by defensiveness and “machismo;” demonstrate an inclusive, team-building leadership style in problem solving and decision making; are more likely to ignore restrictive rules and take risks; and are more empathetic, more flexible, and stronger in interpersonal skills. Moreover, women see public service as a sacred trust to be used only to advance public interests, not personal gain, including election and reelection.
With regard to both the national level and the local level, a massive voter turnout on November 5 could very well lead to a rectification of our FLAWED DEMOCRACY and all the people would benefit.