POWER
In listening to electioneering talk on TV, I often am told that the main reason for a man to enter politics is a desire for power.
It seems logical to assume that the man, or woman who seeks to lead a group of people, even an entire nation, certainly must be aware of the fact that, in doing so, he or she must have authority and the ability to move people in support of his ideas or of those of the political party he heads or represents. A man without such a means of activating his beliefs would be tragic from the start.
Power in the telling is often depicted as bad thing. That is not true. The mis-use of power is one of the avenues to avoid. It very much in keeping with our common expression about money. It is the love of money which leads to trouble rather than the money itself. The same is said of pride. We are encouraged to take pride in our accomplishments but to be sure it is not false pride, which condemns us to exile from proper society.
It should not be too difficult to look at our present presidential candidates to see how important power is to each of them. We may , as free citizens, disagree as to which man will best handle such power and authority which election hands to him. We have seen sufficient evidence in the past to realize that individuals can see such things in various lights and much which seems proper, or acceptable, to one can also be deemed to have been improper in the eyes of fellow citizens who don't see things in the same color, light and texture as other happen to see them. I, personally, have always been able to feel that – having been duly elected – the man chosen deserve to have, at least, an extended honeymoon period is which we all agree too his use of his newly gained powers to lead all of us to unified goals.. Properly chosen, he is the leader for all of us and his power should be should be respected and obeyed for the common good of all, until such time as he appears to have failed to make proper use of such a treasure. I feel perfectly at ease, then, to oppose him in the next election but until such a time arrives, he remains legally “our” president and should be respected as such, save conditions in which he has grossly disobeyed the trust we placed in him as a voting body which can, if the needs be noted, cut off his power as quickly as it was granted.
The two major candidates have each staked out the areas in which they are making their bid for gaining the powers of being President of our nation. Senator John Kerry in running his record as a veteran of the Viet Nam War and seeks the power to head the nation in opposition to our recent problems. Incumbent President George W. Bush cites his record of service to the nation in bringing about strong, prompt retaliation against Terrorist foes following 9-11. In a limited sense, it may be seen as a contest to see who will be Commander-in-Chief of our Armed Forces.
I have a disquieting idea that this current election been “simplified” to meet the need of an electorate which does not comprehend - much less understand - the complexities of the dire problems which face our nation during this first potentially tragic first decade of the new century. I have a strong feeling also that those people held to be aware of the potential for the rest of the decade are, even now, aware of the threat of a world-wide religious war in the making. Dumbing down an election to suit the electorate's capabilities is, I feel, wrong, but it has been done and it will be interesting to see how our ultimate fate is to be determined in November of 2004.
A.L.M . August 30, 2004 [c680wds]
