I suppose leadership at one time meant muscles; but today it means getting along with people. Mahatma Gandhi

The struggle we seem to be having in the country currently with the shut down of the government has gotten me to thinking about leadership, what we expect from our leaders, how we support - or don't - our leaders and who we are trying to be as a nation. I find myself looking back at how we got here and what our next steps might be. Let's begin with what we expect from our leaders.

I want to start by saying that I am no expert in politics; I can only give you the perspective of my own life experience, what I want from a leader and the concerns I have for our country and our world. I see the changing climate around me as needing someone that can navigate through different points of view and help different 'sides' to instead see there are other perspectives and while one may not agree with the ideologies of another they certainly should be respected as having the same weight as one's own. What I want from my leaders is to do their very best in representing the people they are leading and to keep a calm head even when they feel passionately about what they're trying to do. I don't believe I'm alone in this. I want my leaders to be good, honest, caring people that are there because they love serving the public. It doesn't mean I don't want them to stand up for what they believe in, but that doesn't mean I want them to back themselves against a wall screaming that their way is the only way, I want them to instead work at figuring out how we can be one nation with a mission greater than one person, one party, or one way of thinking. Sound ideological? Good, we aspire to the highest!! I want a leader that will aspire to be great not self-serving, that aspires to be a conduit for positive change and looks after our very best interests. I want someone out there that cares about the long-term consequences of what we're doing now; someone that understands what we decide now will impact our children and children's children. I want someone unselfish and loving - that is what I want from a leader. What do you want?

How do we support our leaders? I often hear people talking about all the things that our leaders do that they don't agree with; all the 'mistakes' if you will, they are making. I hear criticism heaped upon criticism for our politicians and rarely hear about the great things they're doing. Now don't get me wrong, I believe we should absolutely look at what we are doing as a nation - and thereby our leaders are doing - that needs changing, but if we only look at the negative and never support the positive what is the outcome going to be like, what is the energy of our nation going to be, what are we creating? Let me use the example of a teacher and student; if the only tactics used for teaching are those of humiliating and pointing out mistakes, what kind of results will that teacher have, indeed what kind of student will they create? Will there be a love for learning or an attitude of anger, fear, polarization even hatred? Sound familiar? How much criticism have we had in our lives for our own parents, clergy, and more? Is this not where it starts? Are we judging ourselves as harshly as we seem to be judging our leaders? If so, perhaps this is where we need to start; having compassion for ourselves, supporting ourselves with kindness while we're leading our lives, making mistakes and growing. How are we supporting our leaders? What kind of messages are we giving them? How are we letting them know what we like and what could use positive change? How involved are we really in our government and how apathetic are we until something goes terribly wrong? 

Which leads me to the question: who are we trying to be as a nation? Isn't that the real crux of the matter here? Perhaps in reality we are still children trying to figure out that very thing, and are struggling to know who we truly are. So that brings me to what I do know: I know that though we may argue and struggle, we are a nation of people from all parts of the world that have come here to create something better, something different, something to give our children a better life than what we have known. We are a nation of people that care deeply no matter what our politics. So on our path of discovery of who we are as a nation, and what we want to be, let's ask ourselves how would learning to get along with people no matter what their politics change the world? How would finding our common ground change the very soil we walk on? And how would learning to listen and care about one another's needs help us to be a better and stronger nation?