Determination.

Determination.
With God, all things are possible. So buckle up, show up, and NEVER give up.

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Has the Time Come?

Tonight I finished reading my copy of "LeaderShift: A Call for Americans to Finally Stand Up and Lead." My blog's purpose is not that of a book review. I don't consider myself qualified for that (I've got way too far to go to be an avid, much less diversified, reader). But I do want to put my thoughts out about this amazing piece of literature. What's more, I actually feel a shift taking place in this very blog entry, transforming my own humble little blog's purpose from that of leadership-related musings, to that of promoting the most important message in this day and age (secularly speaking): FREEDOM.

Ultimately, it's my sincere hope that anyone who comes across word of the book "LeaderShift" will get their hands on it. I hate to state it crassly, but the only group of people who this book isn't for is.........those who don't truly care about the future of our nation. Call that melodramatic, but if you ask me the one thing worse than the actual state of our country is the apathy and ignorance about it epitomized by so many of our citizens (among which I was one of the worst until very recently). But then again, I think many thousands, perhaps millions, do sense how grave things are, and yet they either A) think they have the solutions (but they don't, cuz their ideas are things that have already been tried and failed), B) think no solution exists, or C) want there to be a solution but they're too dizzied by the cacophony of opinions and platitudes on CNN or from their economics professors, or their drinking buddies, or coworkers, and so on... To all of you who do want there to be a real solution....finally....your answer has arrived. You MUST read this book!

Co-authors Oliver DeMille and Orrin Woodward used a captivating and easy-to-read narrative format for housing the delivery of an entirely fresh and profound proposal for the turnaround of our nation. Their thoughts have been guided by decades, collectively, of reading and studying historical accounts, literary works from the founding generation, the thoughts of the Classics, etc. Their intuitions have been impacted by their own personal and professional experiences. Their passion and vision comes from a humility and desire for embodying true leadership in their own lives that they are open to ideas that come from outside the box, and their logic is undeniable. At the end of the day, it's as Einstein said: "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results."

That's why I ask any who read this: Is it possible that we've been doing this as a country? Is it possible we've been banging out heads against the wall for a very, very long time? 

In my opinion, there are varying degrees of blame for that. There's no disguising the fact that, for some, the way our political system has been manipulated over the years is very advantageous. So why would anyone who adopts beneficial roles within such a system want anything to change? Actually, such individuals in power may be the only reason why traction for new ideas that can improve America's standing may be met with resistance. Everybody has heard the saying, that power corrupts. In reality, it's a matter of where the power is that determines the corruption.

What I'm saying - and what, in part, this wonderful book is saying - is: Isn't it time for Americans at large to take back the power? I'm not dressed all in black, cranking a heavy song by a band like Rise Against, promoting the idea of anarchy. Nowhere near that, actually. But what did the founding fathers and their associates do more than 250 years ago? Think about that....

"Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed."


-The Declaration of Independence

From this very poignant quote from one of our country's greatest documents I take 3 main points:
1. Americans have absolutely, no questions asked, undeniably been suffering evils that are impeding on our freedoms, and allowing a form of government to rise up into something that's turning our society away from the original ideals. And we've been suffering it for too long. 
2. It is no longer prudent for us as countrymen to sit idly by, claiming victimhood, and believing that it's not up to us to fix what's broken. For the masses, and each individual, to carry on believing that is to deny what was done once before, that enabled us to be free in the first place. If we think we shouldn't, or can't, abolish the forms to which we're accustomed (yet fed up with), we obviously don't know our history, and we really don't deserve our freedom then either. 
3. The time has come. The hour is getting late. Change must take place. We the people, each of us as individuals, must assume responsibility. 

"Sounds great, Jeff," you're saying? "Sounds so patriotic. I can practically hear the soundtrack to that movie Glory playing in the background right now! But what do I even do or how would it even look to re-enact what the likes of Jefferson, Hancock, Wythe, Harrison, Franklin, Clark, and Adams accomplished oh, so long ago?"

To that I simply reply: Read...this...book. Not only will you enjoy it, but you'll be stimulated in a way that you probably haven't been by a piece of literature before. Frankly, it'll put answers into your mind to those questions we've all been asking for a long time. I hope you're at least curious enough to check out a copy. If you know me personally, ask me for a copy. I bought several when they were released, and I plan on having none left for myself if I can get my way. I want this message out there, hands down.

Next time you step outside on a calm evening, just stand there and take it all in. The skies free of bombs. The streets and fields free of wreckage and pillaging. The peace with which you and your family can just hop into your vehicle and drive to your grocery store of choice, your church of choice, your movie theater of choice, and so forth. Just because these freedoms, and others, remain intact doesn't mean that others that are just as important aren't being dissolved out from under us. In fact, the ones that are disappearing as we all sit around complaining are the foundational ones. What happens to a house whose foundation has eroded, when the big bad storm comes bursting through? Think of your children at that moment, when freedom is the most comforting and sweet in your ears and eyes. Ask yourself if you want there to be any chance that, if things are as bad as some say, that they will inherit disaster, poverty, and collapse when your watch is over. Finally, ask yourself if you can think of anyone you've heard on the radio or seen on TV who's got a comforting solution to our deepest fears for this nation...

Then get this book and read it. Soon. 

Thank you for reading as usual. God bless you all, and God bless America...with leaders who are willing to finally stand up and lead in their own way. That can be you, and that can be me. Let's do this together.