The Renaissance of Social Leadership

In Lee Iacoca’s new book Where Have All the Leaders Gone?, he strikes a poignant cord — with all of these problems we are facing and bad leadership, where is the outrage?

And now that he mentions it, where the heck are all of the leaders? Why is no one other than beltway fever politicians putting forth answers, and bad ones at that? Why are we all just standing around waiting? And what are we waiting for?

Where are the ordinary men and women who are the legacy of the great nation? The Sergeant York’s, the Mr. Smith’s, the Rosa Parks’s, the Preston Tucker’s and the adherents of Cincinnatus?

Where are the everyday leaders in society who have the common sense to solve these problems?

Why, when every thinking man and woman in this nation knows in their core that a $700 billion bailout is just about the worst thing we can do to a nation already drowning in debt, do we stand around and calculate how we might profit from such a travesty?

With all of the resources in our modern society — family, media, community, business, church, local government and education — we should have at least few really good solutions being discussed and promoted from every tavern, restaurant, board room and dining room table.

I study history, and I have to tell you, it doesn’t look good. Historically, no nation (outside of Nineveh) has ever noticed their own folly in real time. We are no exception.

Like other nations from the past, we either assume that we are smarter than the last civilization who tried to borrow their way out of debt (or dig their way out a hole) or we are so ignorant that we don’t have any idea what is happening at all.

Either way, our existing course adds up to a really bad time.

The Solution

So I will take my own admonition and offer a solution, one that I believe has been the salvation of this nation many times in the past and is likely to be the hope for us now. I call it a Renaissance in Social Leadership.

It is generally agreed upon by historians that the Dark Ages came to an end by the advent of a period known as the Renaissance.

This was a period most known for ordinary people and aristocrats alike, who seeing a need in their families, towns, cities and nations, determined to improve themselves and provided much needed societal leadership through rigorous study and the revival of many of the arts, sciences and knowledge lost during the previous 400 years.

Many of these self-appointed leaders believed that the church and the government, who had been the steward of the people’s hearts and minds for so long, were not fully meeting the needs of the people and determined to do something about it. Thus began the Renaissance.

Today I believe it is time for such a renewal: a Renaissance of Social Leadership. I see a vast need for a renaissance in education, and creativity, and relationships and values.

A Renaissance of Social Leadership means a rejuvenation of individuals, families, and communities. A Renaissance of Social Leadership means a rediscovery of the joy of learning for learning sake, the development of personal mission and a focus on unleashing your personal genius.

But what does this mean in everyday living? It means that rather than just waiting around to be told what to do, we as citizens need to take a leadership role in our communities. It means that mothers and fathers need to start acting like the stewards that they really are and can be. It means that rather than following the media blindly, we should hold them accountable.

It means that we should be actively engaged in our local governments, anxiously following and being involved in our immediate governance. It means that we should all be pursuing lifetime education for ourselves and taking an active ownership in the elementary and secondary educations of our children. And demanding a lot more from higher education.

It means demanding, encouraging and providing businesses in our communities that are beneficial to society and who give back a lot. And it means living a lifestyle that is in tune with our spiritual selves.

I’ll be writing more on this topic in the future and although the tactics may be complicated, the strategy is simple: We must take our lives back.

We must stand up, assume responsibility and demand that government limit itself, that media stick to report the news instead of trying to make it. We must be loyal husbands and wives, dedicated mothers and fathers. We must participate in education by example, not coercion. We must purposefully get out of debt and create financial stability.

If this makes you mad, I would love to hear from you.

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