John Quincy Adams: A statesman who served this country as the sixth president of the United States of America… He also served this country as a diplomat and a senator and also in the House of Representatives. He could and did rally people! He could draw you to think… Not the kind of thinking that happens during commercials between scenes of one’s favorite TV show or out on the golf course… He made you think and learn and act! And, I believe he was right when he said, that when one’s actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, become more, then you were a leader… He was describing himself.
I hesitate to mention the up-coming election because we’re all fed up. But here goes… Are we choosing an actual leader for our country, or are we trying to solve the discomfort we may be living in for the moment… Because some of that can only go away with time and no leader can change it in a term of office. Our focus is not to make ourselves comfortable by electing someone, because every one of us must work for that ourselves. Again, we have to work for that. And as hard working people, we must then elect a leader to help us out who will protect our freedoms and our rights and move our country forward.
When an election year comes ’round, we must ask ourselves to understand what it is we’re looking for as you and I review what a leader is… And then, we elect one of those, someone who not only touts that he cares about the country and our lives, but actually knows the constitution of our country and has the will and the character to BE the President of the United States. A leader for this country is not a king; a leader for this country is a president who works with two houses called the House of Representatives and the Senate. And, they do not rule, they govern. They are supposed to be leaders who govern (which means for us that we are a part of more than the vote, we are a part of the system… “Of the people, by the people, for the people” – Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address).
Right now are we not acting like people who want an easy life, while freedom is neither free nor easy? Americans are not stupid… We are thinkers and hard workers and helpers of not only one another in our country but we’ve helped MANY other countries. Now it’s time to help ourselves by truly electing a true statesman. Let us think and discuss (real issues), and act like we understand those words of Past President Lincoln, “Of the people, by the people for the people,” and let us stick those words of John Quincy Adams to the persons wishing to be our President… Do any of their actions demonstrate these things: Inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more! Let us elect a leader… Not a king who wishes to rule over us with only his ideas, but a President of the United States of America who is a statesman (not just a politician), but one who is “of the people, by the people, for the people”. Do the persons running for this great office know these words? Do we as the American people, and voters in this up-coming election, understand that we must not settle for a mouthpiece?
May we all take time to truly think and realize the importance of our place in this up-coming election. Your vote and mine… They count!
Best…
Carolyn Thomas Temple