I have become increasingly discouraged with the leadership
of this country. We have become a petty, backbiting nation that abuses power,
has no respect for freedom of speech or individual privacy, and uses power for
vengeance against political enemies rather than to work for the greater good of
the country.
We also show almost no competency in actual management, the
art of negotiation or the ability to bring our diverse population closer
together. We emphasize differences rather than similarities, and it seems our politicians
have lost touch with the ability to compromise.
We send people to Washington who are so full of themselves
that they find no room to understand others. Party politics has become the
driving force, and has evolved into a take-no-prisoners war in which
negotiations can only involve unconditional surrender.
We need to develop leaders who actually understand the
breadth and depth of this country: that understand that it is not
one-size-fits-all.
I think the only way to do that is to demand some minimum
qualifications from those who want to run for President: things that would
ensure that they have some understanding of the real world and the needs of our
citizenry, rather than just the needs of the most powerful lobbyists or special
interest groups.
Leaders of the Free
World (Granite Grumblings: Life
in the Live Free or Die State, 2011) was my attempt to establish some
possible parameters for our presidential candidates and also our voters. It
seems even more critical today.
Glenn K. Currie
Leaders of the Free World
Did you ever wonder how we got to be the “leader” of the
free world? It is hard to believe that it is the result of the quality of our
politicians.
Most of our leaders seem to be in Washington because their
other careers went dead, or maybe they never had another career. And a lot of
them aren’t able to apply themselves well at this job either, based on the
amount of time they actually spend representing us at the various legislative
meetings.
But once elected, they don’t appear to have much to worry
about, because our voters don’t seem to care. Apparently our voters are so dumb
they can’t even figure out a butterfly ballot, let alone determine if their
representative is earning his paycheck.
No wonder the rest of the world is a little worried about
us. Our election standards are even lower than our education standards.
Right now, any idiot who is a natural-born citizen and is at
least thirty-five years of age, can run for President. And a lot of them have
taken advantage of that opportunity. The election process isn’t doing a very
good job of culling the herd. We, as voters, keep putting people into office
and then complaining that they are in office. Then we nominate an even bigger
idiot to try to replace him or her.
I think, as keepers of the first real primary, we have some
responsibility to ourselves and the world, to establish a few minimum
requirements to be eligible to be a leader of the free world. And maybe we
should also impose a few demands on our voters as well.
For our would-be presidential candidates, I suggest the
following eligibility standards:
1) Live
in an apartment without a doorman for at least a year.
2) Serve
at least one year in any combination of the following non-supervisory jobs:
Food service, manufacturing,
sales, health care, transportation, construction, or education.
3) Complete
two years of service in the military, the Peace Corps or an equivalent (without
a valet or PR person to assist).
4) Ride
a public bus across country, stay at least one night in a flop house, and spend
at least two weeks in a place without indoor plumbing.
5) Demonstrate
the ability to successfully run an organization that is not inherited, funded
by family trusts, or classified as a non-profit.
6) Personally
fill out and file a federal income tax return.
7) Demonstrate
a sense of humor and the common sense to recognize BS when it is up to the
ankles.
8) Read
at least one trashy novel and watch a week of daytime television.
9) Demonstrate
a working knowledge of baseball and football.
10) Spend a
month as a teacher’s aide in an inner city public school.
As for the voters, my expectations must be much more
limited. But even with that realization, it seems that there should be a few
basic requirements, none of which are currently being enforced.
Voter standards should be as follows:
1) Prove
they are United States citizens.
2) Only
be allowed to vote once in each election.
3) Be
required to identify themselves at the polls. (If they don’t know who they are,
they probably shouldn’t be voting.)
4) Be
declared ineligible if they are convicts or persons legally rendered
incompetent.
5) Be
a human being. (No more dogs or parrots getting the vote).
6) Have
a pulse.
7) Be
able to state the last name of the person for whom Washington, D.C. was named.
None of the above requirements are particularly demanding
for either the voters or the future leader of the free world. They might,
however, go a long way towards ensuring the humanity and common sense of those
involved in the election process.
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