As I read the news, I have this thought running through my head about a classified ad that we need to run in papers around the world. It looks something like this:
Skimming over some headlines reveals some alarming trends in regards to some of our leadership.
In Canada this week, the CRTC (the body that regulates the broadcast industry in Canada), banned the Dire Straits song “Money For Nothing” because it used the word “faggot” three times. They banned the song based on the complaint of one individual who felt the song was demeaning to gay people.
Meanwhile, the song “Grenade” by Bruno Mars is soaring high in the charts with graphic lyrics about someone who is willing to do anything for someone, including:
I'd catch a grenade for ya
Throw my head on a blade for ya
I'd jump in front of a train for ya
You know I'd do anything for ya
I would go through all this pain
Take a bullet straight through my brain
The singer indicates they would do anything for this person, even though this person claimed that the other person beat them:
Black, black, black and blue, beat me 'til I'm numb
With all the violence in the world today, especially with suicide being one of the top killers of young people, the continued high occurrence of domestic violence and the shooting incident in Tucson, Arizona last week, these lyrics are not entertaining.
But where is the outcry?
Speaking of Tucson, Arizona, it is disappointing to see leaders of the NRA and other pro-weapons organizations step forward to champion the right for every American to own any type of gun, including people-killers such as glocks and such. One pro-weapons advocate in Arizona even said it is human nature to be armed. Legislators are also VERY quick to continue to champion the need for people to possess these weapons.
I wonder how Congresswoman Giffords, a pro-weapons advocate herself, will feel when she has recovered and discovers that a 9-year-old girl was killed as a result of Ms. Giffords being targeted.
Despite this, the annual gun show in Tucson this weekend (one week after the shooting) is expecting record sales of weapons.
Meanwhile, people who need access to mental health care struggle to make their way through the red tape, cost and excessive wait times so that they can receive the treatment they need. These people deal with the pain they are enduring and the stigma that unfortunately accompanies mental health concerns while it takes forever for legislators to find solutions.
President Obama said in his speech “We can do better”.
I should be inspired by such a statement but I am not, especially since the people who are in government today have the authority to create a better result but choose not to.
The guy who buys the gun, then buys his ammo at Wal-Mart and proceeds to kill people is only half the picture.
Enabling him with the right to purchase such weapons indicts the people who embrace the laws that provide him with this right.
Which causes me to think …..
We all own the inconsistency of leadership that we see around us.
We like to lament about how government, or certain corporations or other leaders aren’t getting the job done.
The truth is that they will get it done when we demand it – not before.
We know that such inspiring, intelligent, transparent, values-based leaders are out there. If they weren’t, the world would be in much worse shape.
We see many examples of inspiring leaders throughout history, including many today.
However, we need more of them – a LOT more of them.
The world is on the cusp – balanced precariously between a future of difficulty and pain and one of amazing potential.
Given this, consider that the classified ad above has been posted.
Will you or someone you know answer the call?
Will you encourage others to answer the call?
I hope so.
The world is ready for the next generation of leaders who will make a positive difference.
It doesn’t need people who assume power under the guise of “we can fix things in the future”.
It needs people who demonstrate that “we are fixing things now”.
And it needs such people NOW.
As Plato once said (substituting the word “leadership” where he used the word “politics”):
"The penalty that good men pay for not being interested in leadership is to be governed by men worse than themselves."
In service and servanthood,
Harry
My Musings-in-a-Minute blog contains the same entry and can be found here.
No comments:
Post a Comment