…But not with those two. Not with our political leaders. Real leadership no longer resides in the candidates or our elected officials. They may have power, but let us not confuse power with leadership. They’ve done their damage to our nation’s discourse. And at some point this evening this election, hopefully, will be over, and if there is any grace in the universe, the results will be indisputable and decisive with no question and no ambiguity about who is the real winner.
One thing is for sure, however: regardless of who wins, their opponent will go back to their wealthy, posh life and cease to be affected by the damage left in the wake of such hatred and meanness.
We the citizens, on the other hand, will, in the morning, have to face our neighbors, our coworkers and our family members with whom we have disagreed these past two years, many with the same level of hatred and meanness demonstrated in the campaign.
We will see them over the fence in our neighborhoods,
In our churches and synagogues and mosques.
We will face them across the table at Thanksgiving dinner.
We will drive behind them on the road, their vehicles still adorned with stickers supporting views, values and visions we vehemently disagree with.
We the citizens will have to live with each other and learn once more how to:
Communicate
Work together,
Love together,
Laugh together,
Live together.
We will cry together at the funerals of those we love regardless of our political affiliation, and in doing so will turn to each other and hug and console, forgetting for the moment that we were on opposite sides of the political spectrum. We will cry with joy at the weddings of mutual friends as they embark on a new life journey. We will cry with wonder at the birth of new children regardless of their parents’ choices this election day. We will cry from the fear we hold in our hearts. We will cry because love will at times overwhelm us with the beauty, compassion and pure humanity that flows when we are faced with challenge and opportunity.
Real leadership begins now. Not from the top–from within.
Real leadership lives in our ability to rise above what just transpired and be able to honor one another with respect, compassion and love.
Real leadership is found not in the words that we use, but the actions we take when we chose to lift each other up instead of hold each other down.
This isn’t a republican country or a democratic country, it’s not Christian or atheist or Muslim or Jewish, it’s not yours or mine… It is OURS. Together. We are the UNITED States of America, not the Divided States of America.
And we have a choice.
We can be sheep and follow what the people in power tell us, and accept the division they place on us for their own gain and the gain of a few–or we can be leaders, and show them what a UNITED Nation really looks like. Show them what happens when we look at each other and see a person rather than a label, when we choose respect and balance, when we choose to invite everyone into the fabric of this nation.
It’s time for us, now, to lead–not from the podium, but from our lives. Leadership isn’t something you hear, it’s something you experience.
What experience of leadership will you bring forth from this election?
