As a Leadership Coach, you might wonder why I’m blogging about politics. Simple! I have this old fashioned idea that leaders should have some idea what they are talking about. I am tired of seeing Senators and Congressmen stating that we live in a democracy. Hogwash! Most of our elected officials don’t even know what a Republic is. Most of our teachers don’t know either and certainly don’t teach it. If a leader is so ignorant that they don’t know where a path is headed, do we really want to follow them down that path? Why are we letting them lead in the first place.

Our founding fathers never intended this to be a democracy. It was supposed to be a Republic. Ask 10 people to tell you the difference and 9 of them will fail. Creating a Republic and not a Democracy is the single best thing our forefathers did for us and yet most people don’t even know the difference. Shameful. If you are one of those who don’t know the difference between a Republic and a Democracy I beg you to go view this video.

The American Form of Government

As Walter E. Williams, a nationally-acclaimed economist of George Mason University so eloquently stated,
Democracy and majority rule give an aura of legitimacy to acts that would otherwise be deemed tyranny. Think about it. How many decisions in our day-to-day lives would we like to be made through majority rule or the democratic process? How about the decision whether you should watch a football game on television or “Law and Order”? What about whether you drive a Chevrolet or a Ford, or whether your Easter dinner is turkey or ham? Were such decisions made in the political arena, most of us would deem it tyranny. Why isn’t it also tyranny for the democratic process to mandate what type of light bulbs we use, how many gallons of water to flush toilets or whether money should be taken out of our paycheck for retirement?

The founders of our nation held a deep abhorrence for democracy and majority rule. In Federalist Paper No. 10, James Madison wrote, “Measures are too often decided, not according to the rules of justice and the rights of the minor party, but by the superior force of an interested and overbearing majority.” John Adams predicted, “Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There was never a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.” Our founders intended for us to have a republican form of limited government where the protection of individual God-given rights was the primary job of government.

When you look at all of the truly inspired leaders that founded this country, and then look at the total lack of selfless, competent leadership today, one must ponder where we went wrong. Leaders aren’t born, they develop. But they develop out of a solid foundation based on core values such as taking responsibility, a love and respect for others, and a conviction to do what is right. Until we, as a country, can restore such basic values, we will continue to find ourselves with politicians instead of leaders. Politicians who will continue to push us toward democracy because it pads their pockets.

If you don’t fear a democracy let me ask you how you would feel if the majority decided tomorrow that blue-eyed blonds shouldn’t be allowed to drive. Or that anyone over the age of 70 should be put to sleep because it costs too much to care for them. Think it can’t happen. Look around at the changes that have taken place in just the last 10 years.

One of the major elements to surviving difficult circumstances is situational awareness. A realistic, real time appraisal of the conditions you find yourself in. Refusing to let go of the past, or delusional dreams of the future, will not contribute to your ability to survive. What is required is a blunt, honest assessment of your current circumstances and resources.

Are you betting your future on our economic model returning to what it used to be? Are you sure that job you used to have will really come back some day? Are you sure that if it does return that you even want to keep doing what you were doing? Do you believe that if you simply keep your head down and tighten your belt that the good times will return?

Have you truly grasped the significance of the exponential growth of Social Media and its impact on traditional marketing? If you really understand that shift, how does it impact your way of doing business or looking for a job? If Wikipedia, which has become one of the largest and most accurate of encyclopedias, was written by folks who, for the most part, never even met each other, what does that say about our need for offices and factories going forward?

In his book “Tribes”, Seth Godin states: “In unstable times, growth comes from leaders who create change and engage their organizations, instead of from managers who push their employees to do more for less”.

What are you doing, either as an individual or a business, to assess the changes that have altered the very fabric of our society? What are you doing to adapt? What are the real odds of your survival?

Would you like to find out how well equipped you are to survive these difficult times? Go to The Survivor Club, and click on the Recession Survivor IQ link.