I have always thought that being good citizen-leaders is something that could only benefit this country that we all love. In light of recent developments, I have been positively surprised to find that there may be more citizen-leaders out there than I have previously thought. Thomas E. Cronin wrote that "we shall know we are making progress not when we can boast we are a nation in need of those larger-than-life great leaders because we have become a nation of citizens who believe that one person can make a difference and every person should regularly try." I will examine two recent articles from the New York Times that fit in the argument I have been making. One of the article is about the uproar that emerged from the Thursday democratic debate—characterized by Washington Post’s Tom Shales as “shoddy and despicable”—over the lack of substance and obvious bias against Senator Obama, while the other treats of the unprecedented newfound interest that grade school students have for politics.
The overwhelming majority of responses Thursday’s debate has been very negative. Indeed, the debate really lacked substantive issues; for the first forty-five minutes, the moderators almost entirely dwelled on trivia and side issues. It actually looked like an attempt at swiftboating to me. Most viewers did not agree with the debate format, and they let ABC know. What I find especially appealing is that the people were able to push back and let the media know that they wanted a substantive discussion. They let the ABC and the MSM know that they will no longer accept innuendos and side issues to dominate elections while they are struggling economically and their loved-ones are dying in Iraq. It was a tremendous act of leadership long due from the public. As Thomas Cronin puts it, a leader should “inspire and mobilize others—citizens, contributors, participants—to undertake common problem-solving tasks. By these standards, Obama has been a very good leader so far because he has inspired many to move beyond what he calls “the politics of personal destruction”. But I have to say that most of the people who expressed indignation about the debate format deserve much of the credit because, in many cases, they have inspired themselves to move beyond tabloid politics. The 17,600 people who posted negative comments on ABC’s website probably have had enough for sometime. In fact, that may explain why they are supporting Obama. Cronin wrote that a nation would not progress because it is able to produce a few larger-than-life leaders, but because it has “become a nation of citizens who believe that one person can make a difference and every person should regularly try.”
The nation needs citizens who strive to be a leader for themselves and others. This means that the nation needs citizens who are well informed, intelligent, engaging, etc. The nation needs citizens who focus on pressing issues and have moral standards and decency. And an article by the New York Times suggests that this is indeed possible. The article suggests that very young kids were spontaneously curious about the current presidential elections, and that they have been doing much research about the candidates. Some of the kids actually know more about the candidates than many adults I know who have no idea what is going on. A leader must be informed, and a good citizen leader must be informed as well. These kids fulfill that criterion. They are actually being good citizen-leaders already at that young age. Maybe we should consider lowering the voting age because these nine-year-olds at least appear to have more political acumen than some adults. And I am not saying this become they overwhelmingly voted for Obama, but because they accurately know where the candidates stand. I mean, when young kids know who voted for the Iraq war and who didn’t, or know that McCain could be the oldest man ever elected US president, one has to be positively intrigued. One could think that they pick up this information from their parents; but asked how she knew about the seemingly strange marital relationship between the Clintons, a student replied that she “saw it on AOL.com.” If these kids are not an oddity; if they constitute any evidence of what future citizens are going to be like, then I am very hopeful that this society is finally going to be peopled by a majority of citizen-leaders. Not only will they keep Washington and the MSM accountable, but also they will demand a substantive, focused, and progressive discussion of the issues at hand. Good leadership starts with us.
http://www.nytimes.com/...
http://www.nytimes.com/...