Am I all alone here?

     I have always aspired to be a leader.  Doesn't everybody? I was born in 1980 and grew up in middle class America. Instead of the American dreams of religious freedom, pluralism and freedom of speech I was bombarded with dreams and images of fame, easy money, power and popularity. Nobody in my neighborhood ever aspired to be a follower.  Nobody ever wants to be the socially awkward dweeb eating her lunch alone in the high school cafeteria. And certainly nobody ever wanted to be the last to be picked for a pick up game of ball on the playground. I was told from a very early age that I can do anything I want to do in life, that the sky is the limit but at the time, those words meant nothing to me. In fact, later in life when I began to understand them they became a distraction, a distraction I call the American dilemma.  What is the American dilemma you ask? The American dilemma is that we can be whatever we want to be! When in the history of mankind has a civilization existed that their citizenry could be whatever they wanted to be?  That is a tremendous opportunity and burden. Many youth and young adults that did not 'find their calling' early on seemed to get stuck in the middle of a torrent of opportunity, paralyzed with too many choices and avenues toward the all too seemingly easy success. But what also contributes to this dilemma is the expectation that we are to be famous, rich, popular and smart.  But in a world concerned with image over substance, leadership becomes a cheap commodity just like everything else.  Leadership becomes a word, a slogan and a marketing campaign. And the results are clear.

Aside from the Kenneth Lay and Dennis Kozlowskis' of the early 2000's we now have faceless derivative traders at major banking institutions selling complex financial instruments called mortgage backed securities. And the only problem with these securities is that they are tied to worthless assets. This was to me a shadow industry and by definition, leaderless. It was initiated in pursuit of empty tag lines that we have all been bombarded with, the dreams of easy money, short term gains and power. Under astute leadership, leadership with vision and the courage to take action would have never allowed such a travesty to unfold. A true leader would have the vision to see beyond the short term gains, a true leader would have had the courage to stand up, even to their shareholders. Unfortunately the ones that saw this coming could do nothing but watch in horror as the house of cards came crashing down. Good thing the Government stepped into save the day. Right?

The American political system just cant seem to get a leader through its doors, let alone out of them. Barack Obama campaigned masterfully on this idea. He was the right man at the right time who said the right things to a disenchanted populace, or so it seemed. He laid out a vision, one of transcendence, hope and common sense. But when the rubber met the road he failed in courage. He failed to stand up to big insurance companies. He failed to articulate his 'victories'. He failed to stand up to his own party. But this is not just about Barack Obama, although he serves as a wonderful case study in the failure of American leadership and the triumph of image over substance. This is about leadership in the Senate, House, Military, Treasury, Intelligence, Foreign Policy and the list goes on and on.  America thought that hegemony was by default, that we won and they lost. But ideas are what won, not people. And the idea is a vision, a scenario that people can be a part of, it is contextual, and it takes courage to defend it, to adjust it and to acknowledge it.

The power of Americas vision is crumbling under lack of modern leadership.  Americas vision must be articulated to each generation by everyday leaders in classrooms and dinner tables across the country but in reality we have a massive, ineffective bureaucracy for an educational system and parents that outsource parenting. Its is a scary thought to know the worlds sole economic, political and military power has no real leadership. And this is not a top down problem and as such, it will not be a top down solution.  Humans like to blame and point fingers at single people or institutions usually considered above them, that have perceived power over them. I guess it is easier than facing the harder realities of individual responsibility, or it is just how our brains organize information for efficient retrieval.  In any case it behooves us to call upon our higher selves to truly see the problem, correctly define it, and take the necessary steps both individually and collectively to right the ship. But, as we all know that is where we get stuck these days.  Without proper leadership to articulate what the problem is, how we define it and the courage to ask those most responsible to take action we are left rudderless. And because we have had such a lack of vision for the U.S in the post cold war era we have unwittingly created a vacuum that has been filled with Al Qaeda. Al Qaeda has a vision, they have a story that people can share strong emotions with and they have the courage to implement their vision and take responsibility for their horrific actions. Al Qaeda stands in stark contrast to the modern U.S that in essence left the door open for such a vision to exist.  So, without a clear articulated vision, the courage to stand up and the responsibility to stand behind it we only sew the seeds of our own undoing. In other words, without our own leadership, someone else's leadership will fill the void. And in the the world today that indeed is a scary thought.

My generation is lost.  We were all promised an easy way to money, power and popularity. We purchased this commodity without realizing there was no warranty or returns accepted. In fact we were led to believe there would be no consequence for this seemingly harmless purchase aside from the cessation of suffering that permeates the human condition. We were sold a lie and now the chickens have come home to roost. I was fortunate enough to have thought provoking parents and I was fortunate enough that they stressed education and reading in my life. I was blessed with excellent teachers at private schools and over time realized that what was being sold to me was a lie.  The stark contrast between what was taught to me and what I saw in popular culture only drove the point home further. Unfortunately, not all kids had the same experiences I did. I would like to think it doesn't happen anymore but I would be lying to you and me. It happens more than ever, and images and manufactured dreams churn out by the millions to anxious youth looking for easy answers on facebook and reality TV. We have a crisis of leadership in America.  We have for a while now. And I do not want to sound completely negative so I will conclude with a few positive notes.

I have met some tremendous leaders my age over the past few years. Not a lot, but the ones that are around stand in such stark contrast to the world around them that one cannot help but listen to what they have to say. It may be because we have gone so far off track that when someone says a vision that used to be mainstream, that articulates values and principles that cannot be marginalized it forces people in to their sphere by inertia and gravitation alone. I feel I have responsibility to share my vision, to do what I can to help my country and this world. It is my biggest fear that I will end up on my death bed not having done a single thing to help rudder the ship. I have learned one thing however, people in this world of manufactured dreams are dying for a leader. The Obama campaign only provided a keyhole in to this untapped restlessness. Leadership exists because it was necessary for survival. Leaders helped clans survive winters and attacks from other clans. People instinctively look for leadership and they know it when they feel it. All it takes is someone with the courage to step up with a vision and the responsibility to accept the consequences, alone.  I have always wanted to be a leader. Doesn't everybody?