George W. Bush and the vision thing
Where there is no vision, the people perish.
The soul of our country needs to be awakened. . . . When leaders act contrary to conscience, we must act contrary to leaders.
Vision—the ability to create a compelling mental picture of an ideal future—for oneself, one’s community, the world. Such a vision draws one inexorably toward the cherished dream. The actions necessary to make it a reality become clear; the energy required to take them flows freely.
I was listening to Morning Edition, the National Public Radio news show a few days ago. The newscaster reported that President Bush planned a variety of small initiatives on popular themes à la Bill Clinton. I shook my head in dismay. More half-measures. More insignificant actions designed to raise approval ratings and lull us into believing that something is actually being accomplished.
Sadly, it’s been quite some time since we’ve had a true visionary as president, someone with a vision strong enough to unite this nation behind it. Washington and Jefferson enrolled the people of America into a vision of democracy and freedom for all. Well, all but slaves, Native Americans, and women, that is. Nonetheless, most would agree that they were on the right track. Lincoln shared a vision of a nation undivided, a nation free of slavery. Unfortunately, half the nation bought into it; half did not. FDR had a vision of prosperity for all, even if it meant creating government jobs for those who had none, and we got behind him and pulled ourselves out of economic chaos. Kennedy engaged us in a vision of humans setting foot on the moon, and we pulled it off. The Clintons brought forth a vision of universal health care, but in the end the whole thing unraveled and they retreated, focusing primarily on what they deemed necessary to retain political power.
And now we’ve elected someone who looked and sounded pretty good on TV, but who is proving to lack the foresight needed to energize the people of this nation to deal with the challenges that we confront—education, the environment, Social Security, health care, violence, addiction, et cetera. President Bush’s narrow viewpoint—disengagement from the world community, hunkering down in Fortress America behind our high-tech Maginot Line, doling out a few bucks to the masses and big bucks to the rich—is not one that will inspire many.
Our country was powerful long before we developed nuclear weapons along with the systems to deliver them. The peoples of the world looked to us as an authentic model of freedom and democracy prior to our becoming the international enforcer of unrestrained capitalism. We had a vision of who we were, of what we stood for. We may not have always lived up to our vision of courage, liberty, and equality, but we persevered nonetheless.
Now we have the military and economic might to lay waste to anyone who stands in our way. But we’ve given up the high ground. Rather than enrolling people into a vision of a better world, more frequently we use our muscle to get our way. And while this may work in the short term, in the long term it will not.
I believe that there are many in this great land with vision, bravery, and boldness. I believe that there are leaders who want a nation we can be proud of, one in which there is a place at the table for every man, woman, and child. A nation in which no one goes hungry, no one goes without shelter, no one lacks adequate health care. And a nation that wants these things for the rest of the world as well.
But this will not happen as long as we continue to elect professional politicians whose primary concern is keeping themselves in office as long as possible. We will not be united in a common cause as long as we tolerate leaders who don’t understand what “public servant” really means. We won’t reach the Promised Land by waiting for someone to take us there. Our freedom, our joy, our happiness as individuals and as a nation are ours for the taking.
We must be willing to dream an undeniable dream of the possible. Then we must work to make this potent vision come true.
Saturday, August 4th, 2001No Comments »
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