LEADERSHIP MATTERS

Stop what you are doing! Breathe deep; and be. Take a few moments to feel the experience.

Buy a pack of small stickers—any kind will do—and place a dozen or so around your home and office in noticeable places, such as your bathroom mirror, your computer, the back of your phone, on the book you are reading, your clock. Every time you see one of the stickers, stop what you are doing, breathe deep; and be. Take a few moments to feel the experience. (Catherine Price, Mindfulness, a Journal, New York, NY: Clarkson Potter)

As one prepares for each new day, we recognize there is a great deal to get done in the battle for the soul of the Nation and to evolve our individual and collective consciousness and culture. As one reflects on our human interdependence, shared humanity, and aspiration to have happiness—financial viability, health, and companionship—and avoid suffering, a VISION of our “mighty task” might look something like this:

• We evolve with core values and guiding principles for inner self-regulation to promote those aspects of human nature recognized as conducive to our own wellbeing and that of others.
• We help others and the intention to improve is central to our evolutionary impulse.
• We have leaders who have a track record of positive, ethical leadership successes, are well-qualified, are trusted, are team players, and recognize leadership is an influence relationship that energizes earned power and inspires willingness to achieve mutually defined ends.
• We have limited government by the people and for the people; and promote democracy.
• We are fiscally responsible, have free trade and economic stability and equity. Real annual per capita economic growth during presidential terms equals or exceeds mean growth during two previous terms. The economy is thriving for working, middle-class families: teeming with jobs, union solidarity, small businesses, agriculture programs and processes, essential childcare, corporate sanity, sound trade relationships, social security system, tax equity and sanity, and long-term care and financial security programs for seniors.
• We ensure public safety and respect for law and order. No one is above the law. Communities are safe and inspire peaceful activities, including protests. Citizens and police are mutually respected; and violence on streets is not tolerated and is dealt with sanely.
• We are visibly committed to health, wellness, and well-being for all citizens. There is affordable healthcare and viable public health outreach that enables integral physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health, wellness, and well-being, coupled with honored per-existing conditions, decreasing drug prices, and necessary integral psychological health processes, including resolution of the opioid addiction.
• We manifest a globally envied education system—facilities, teachers, curriculum, and schools of choice—that manifests evolving skills and talents for future generations.
• We are prepared for pandemics. Leadership, management, and control of pandemics is through the Centers for Disease Control, coupled with state public health entities and active support and interface with the World Health Organization.
• We foster strength in diversity, absence of systemic racism, and sane immigration. Racial, social justice, diversity, anti-racism, and women’s policies and programs model the way and evolve dismantling the conscious and unconscious pillars of racism.
• We have media processes and sources who tell the truth, are objective, not self-serving and offer coverage that is in the best interests of the Nation. Lying, spinning, shallow, and offensive media offerings are not tolerated.
• We nurture controlled business ethical and moral issues; and science is respected.
• We have strong military, underwater, and space forces coupled with intelligence, technology leadership and sane gun laws. Veteran and veteran spouse-family-children benefits, outreach, integral psychological health, and combat veteran re-entry-transition programs are active.
• We build and maintain international alliances and reasoned foreign policy; and we stand up to dictators. National security and foreign policy are supported with an inspired State Department and reputable allies for strategic underwater, space, and military security. Coalition building is facilitated by trust, respect, and mutual goals.
• We have legal processes that are professional, objective, satisfy evolving cultural needs, and uphold the Constitution.
• We foster marriage and children policies that satisfy the level and stage of the culture’s evolution and right to choose.
• We honor freedom of religion and spiritual path.
• We actively lead climate change awareness, control, and leadership.
• We have a properly functioning democracy that demands fair and accurate voting systems and candid, wide-ranging exploration of crucial issues and ideas by candidates and parties. State-of-the-art voting processes manifest integrity and foster respect for democracy, the Constitution, and a decentralized culture with empowered citizens. Shallow and offensive campaigns are not tolerated; and the pragmatic electorate chooses a president according to performance of the party holding the White House as measured by consequential events and episodes of the term: economic boom and bust, foreign policy successes and failures, social unrest, scandal, and policy innovation.
• We maintain, re-build, and evolve infrastructure to meet current and future needs.

Partisanship is shaking the mighty pillars of our democracy! Destroying the other party is not a viable objective! We are all Americans, and we can each choose to transcend and include others. Climb on-board to get the healing job done and evolve the consciousness and culture of this great country forward. Rachel Kleinfield and Aaron Sobel (USA Today, Friday, July 24, 2020, page 7A) offer, “7 ways to reduce political polarization: Destroying the other side cannot be our goal.”

1. Call out your own party: speak truth to power and challenge your own tribe.
2. Avoid bad jokes: words matter, and they can perpetuate existing violence and cultivate preexisting grievances.
3. Make social media kinder: remove hateful messages, reduce the spread of hateful memes, and avoid prejudiced or polarizing speech.
4. Downplay the fringes and highlight the median: provide information that overturns party sorted beliefs and that reduces polarization. There may be less disagreement on policy issues than thought.
5. Emphasize disagreement within parties: most policy issues have a range of opinions within a party.
6. Help others imagine empathy: stories that encourage others to take the perspective of the other party can reduce prejudice.
7. Avoid repeating misinformation, even to debunk it: repetition leads the brain to think things are true; and there is a tendency to seek information that agrees with how one believes.

 Stop what you are doing! Breathe deep; and be. Take a few moments to feel the experience. Together, let us move forward and get this job done! Quite simply, positive action that moves current reality closer to the VISION!!