How to Vote -- Leadership

Imagine yourself strolling in the woods on a bright, sunny day. The sun's rays form slivers of light peeking through the foliage and contribute to an overwhelming sense of well-being as you commune with nature. Up ahead, you notice a clearing -- a good place to sit and rest.

As you get nearer to the clearing, you notice what appears to be a vehicle of some sort. It doesn't resemble anything you know, so you edge closer to check it out. Just before you enter the clearing, you feel a hand on your shoulder that scares the beejeebers out of you. Spinning around, you are faced with a humanoid form unlike anything you have ever seen. Wordlessly, you hear a voice in your head: "Take me to your leader."

After the initial shock, you gather yourself and realize the alien is serious. He really wants to meet your leader. Who would that be?

The current crop of politicians comes to mind. Giving it some thought, you realize how embarrassing it would be to introduce this creature to any of them. The giants of industry are considered briefly and quickly dismissed because of their unending greed, hunger for power and corruption. The Queen of England comes to mind, but you don't consider her to be your leader. The Pope would be closer, but the way he dresses is really out of date. The Dalai Lama and his peaceful ways would probably make a better impression, but he doesn't have as many followers as he should. You hadn't actually thought about how difficult this request could be.

You ask yourself: "Who do I follow?"

After exhausting a sizable list of potential candidates, you eventually face the alien and say: "You're looking at him!"

The alien, again wordlessly, replies "That's the correct answer."

It is impossible to have peace in our life without taking responsibility for it. If we are willing to surrender our freedom to others in exchange for "security," we do not have freedom. If we are to sacrifice our time and effort to serve the corporate interests instead of dedicating ourselves to our neighbors and family, we are just a cog in the wheel of despotism.

What do we really need to have a safe and joyful life? Our current leadership is surely ineffective when it comes to providing equality to its citizens. People are herded into manageable groups, like cattle driven into the slaughterhouse yards. Leaders hire "goons with guns" to protect themselves rather than the population. Surveillance systems are installed to remind us of Orwell's "1984," and politics mirror his "Animal Farm." Today's politicians are like the Morlocks feeding on the Eloi as depicted in H. G. Wells' "Time Machine." (That would include feasting not only on bodies, but also on the uninformed minds of the electorate.) Corporations run the world as shown in "Rollerball," and the military/industrial complex ravages the planet as described in "Avatar." Science Fiction has a way of becoming science fact. And yet, the population sleeps.

The majority of the population is not playing the same games as the leadership, although they do play many games. Play is the healthiest and happiest activity we can provide our babies, and our own childhood is relived by playing with them. While most of us can be content with Little Leagues, board games, video games, and the like, the Big Boys play World Domination. There are very few players who can last long enough to create a New World Order. Despots and satraps are dispatched at will by the major bullies, idealistic resistance is squashed, and truth is hidden by the players by designating it "Top Secret." In "A few Good Men", Jack Nicholson is being grilled by Tom Cruise while on the witness stand:

Tom: "Tell us the truth!"
Jack: "You can't handle the truth!"

That's the unfortunate fact for most uninformed egos. They live in denial. When confronted with information that makes them face the truth, many people retreat into illusion and/or delusion rather than remove their ignorance. Many give up their thinking ability to bask in the warm glow of "someone will save me." No leadership in that attitude. Returning to Maslow's model, we see that, to reach Self-Actualization, we need to break through the Self-Esteem level, (where ego likes to live). There are definite traits of those who achieve that level.

Tolerance -- This quality is non-judgmental and accepts life for what it is.

Spontaneity -- An almost eerie capability to do the right thing at the right time.

Discernment -- Removing fables, fiction and fantasy to find truth.

Wisdom -- Using knowledge and logic together to create better circumstances.

Appreciation -- Knowing that simply being conscious is enough to be thankful.

Concern -- Commitment to the welfare of all living things.

Inquisitive -- Needing to understand why things are as they are.

Loving -- An all-encompassing compassion and kindness.


Some behaviors that can help reach Self-Actualization:

Concentration -- Living as a curious child to absorb as much meaning as possible from experience.

Exploration -- Finding new ways to achieve goals and expanding our understanding in the process.

Confidence -- Having no fear of being unpopular.

Honesty -- Knowing that the worst truth is better than the best lie.

Creativity -- Using the imagination to create a better situation.

Responsibility -- Realizing we create our own problems.

If we want to take the alien to our leader, we should look for those who exemplify the above traits. In the looking, we will find all of them within ourselves.