The Inside-Out Reformation

I try to be an informed and responsible citizen by keeping abreast of all the news from as many sources as possible.

But as I hear about major crises and problems such as the genocide in Sudan, our ever-increasing national budget deficit, the insurgency in Iraq, the bankruptcy rate in America, the state of public education and health care, poverty, environmental degradation, etc., I often find myself intensely frustrated and angry at my seeming inability to contribute to the solution of these problems.

In a world of six billion people, it’s hard not to feel insignificant and simply give in to cynicism.

In my frustration I turn to our leaders, hoping that they will have the answers and the influence to solve problems that are beyond the control of the individual citizen.

However, our elections are vivid illustrations that there is a dearth of solid, principle-based leadership in this country. Our political contests have been reduced to forcing us to choose not the best candidate, but the lesser of two evils.

Are we to simply vote along party lines? Wait a minute — where are those lines drawn anyway?

The more I look outward, the more I am convinced that the answers do not lie outside of myself. John Adams wrote, “If worthless men are sometimes at the head of affairs, it is because worthless men are at the tail, and the middle.”

In other words, our political leaders are mere reflections of our citizens. If we want our leaders to change, we have to change.

Meaningful and lasting national and global change must be enacted from the inside out, not the outside in, and it starts not with the individual.

Gandhi taught, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” If I want to see a peaceful world, then I must pursue peace within myself, with my spouse, my children, and my extended family. If I want to see a better system of education in America, then I must take initiative and responsibility to educate myself and my children.

Instead of focusing on what I can’t do, I’m learning to focus instead on what I can do. I can’t pay off the national debt, but I can pay off my debt and balance my home budget. I can’t solve America’s health care problems, but I can live a healthy lifestyle. I can’t stop corporations from dumping environmental waste in our rivers, but I can maintain a clean home environment.

The reformation begins with me. As I change myself, it inspires others around me to change, spreading from my family, to my community, to my state, to my nation, and ultimately to the entire globe. Call me naive and idealistic if you must, but I won’t pay attention; I’m busy changing the world.

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Stephen Palmer is a book writer for mission-driven leaders, a small business lead generation website design architect and persuasive website copywriter, a co-founder of The Center for Social Leadership, and the author of Uncommon Sense: A Common Citizen’s Guide to Rebuilding America.

He co-authored the New York Times bestseller Killing Sacred Cows: Overcoming the Financial Myths that are Destroying Your Prosperity, as well as Hub Mentality: Shifting from Business Transactions to Community Interaction.

He is a liberal-arts graduate of George Wythe University and a graduate and faculty member of the “non-traditional business school” Wizard Academy.

Stephen resides in Round Rock, Texas with his gorgeous wife Karina, awesome son Alex, and princess daughters Libby, Avery, and Laela.

Subscribe to Stephen’s blog and contact him at stephen [at] leadershipwriter [dot] com.