True Leadership

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True leadership begins with servitude. Right now we are faced with a choice between two men who want to take over the office of the most powerful position in the world. But which of these men truly has served our nation and desires to serve it in the future? A few weeks ago, ABC News ran a two-part profile on these men and their wives. I didn’t get to see the first part because I didn’t know about it, but the second part was quite revealing. It began by talking about the wives of these men. It showed how Michelle Obama was raised in a nice, stable home and how she worked hard to earn her degrees and go after her dreams. It talked about how she and her husband met and how her mother-in-law approved of her. There was nothing wrong in any of this and her story was like that of many people out there. What I felt was missing, though, and what I still feel is missing, is a sense of true feeling for anyone other than her family and what she wants. There was no story of her sacrificing anything in the way of time or energy to help anyone but her immediate family. As they spoke about her husband’s background, he, too, was focused on goals and his immediate family. I heard nothing of his interest to help anyone around him or any sense of feeling or compassion for others. It was all about what he wanted and desired. And, throughout his campaign, I’ve heard a lot of rhetoric about change but the only change he really speaks of specifically is moving our country more toward socialism and taking from those who work hard to give to those who haven’t been willing to do the same. On the other hand, when they profiled Cindy McCain, they talked about how she was brought up with wealth and priviilege. But they also said that instead of using what she had to accomplish goals to benefit herself, she used it to help others less fortunate. She focused on helping children with disabilities and others who were hurting. She has spent her life serving those who couldn’t help themselves and made it personal by adopting one of the children and loving her and raising her. We all know John McCain’s history in the military but what I’m most impressed about with him is his desire to put our country as a whole first. He sees himself not as some hot shot leader but as one who plans to serve our country as its President. He’s not promising to sign a bill to murder more children in their mother’s wombs. He’s not promising to steal the hard earned rewards of small business owners and give their money to others who aren’t willing to work as hard as they do. In fact, he’s been unwilling to make a lot of promises because he says he doesn’t want to make promises he may not be able to keep. Neither Barack Obama nor John McCain are all good or all evil. They both have good and bad qualities and I believe I could sit down with either or both of them and have a wonderful conversation on many levels. However, if true leadership begins with servitude, which of these men is not only more qualified but whom is more willing to serve our nation’s people on all levels?