Off and on throughout the year, my sister and I laugh at that scene from "Miss Congeniality" where Sandra Bullock says she thinks the world needs, "Tougher punishment for parole violators….and of course world peace." Noble though a desire for world peace may be, it is not possible unless all the people on the planet decide at the same time to adopt it, which is neither practical nor likely. Yet, so many people think that this attitude means being a leader.
Many of our leaders ask, "Can't we all get along?" displaying a naiveté unparalleled among the leaders of men throughout time. Said Rush Limbaugh long ago, "Concensus is the absence of leadership," and so how can it be leadership to be always ready and willing to work with your enemies? These people talk big plans and big ideas about how we need them and then and only then will the world be better.
We have serious problems, and we need serious people to solve them. These kind of idealistic solutions are neither realistic nor practical in the world as it is. We need to learn to see the world as it is, not as we would like it to be, if we wish to reform it to become more perfect than it is. If you don't see clearly where it is, how can you move it where you want it?
Every time I get new glasses, it takes a while for my eyes to adjust. The first time I got glasses, I learned quickly that the light refracts the image such that it appears slightly smaller and slightly shifted from where it actually is, if I were to stretch out a straight stick in the direction I think it is. If I reach for it, as I get closer, I can adjust, but I don't actually see things the way they are.
Cliché though it seems, Sandra Bullock's answer embodies the full width and breadth of what we really need in leadership. We need someone who loves the law and who believes in it. DeToqueville said in his book that in America the law is king. It's time we acted like it.
Many of our leaders ask, "Can't we all get along?" displaying a naiveté unparalleled among the leaders of men throughout time. Said Rush Limbaugh long ago, "Concensus is the absence of leadership," and so how can it be leadership to be always ready and willing to work with your enemies? These people talk big plans and big ideas about how we need them and then and only then will the world be better.
We have serious problems, and we need serious people to solve them. These kind of idealistic solutions are neither realistic nor practical in the world as it is. We need to learn to see the world as it is, not as we would like it to be, if we wish to reform it to become more perfect than it is. If you don't see clearly where it is, how can you move it where you want it?
Every time I get new glasses, it takes a while for my eyes to adjust. The first time I got glasses, I learned quickly that the light refracts the image such that it appears slightly smaller and slightly shifted from where it actually is, if I were to stretch out a straight stick in the direction I think it is. If I reach for it, as I get closer, I can adjust, but I don't actually see things the way they are.
Cliché though it seems, Sandra Bullock's answer embodies the full width and breadth of what we really need in leadership. We need someone who loves the law and who believes in it. DeToqueville said in his book that in America the law is king. It's time we acted like it.
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