BEACON OF HOPE

MAN (OR WOMAN) IN THE MIRROR!!! 

In almost every post I make to the Voting Alert Beacons Blog, I mention or call out the importance of fulfilling our personal responsibilities to ourselves, our families, our communities, and America, our country.  I will continue to do so in future posts.  However, nothing I’ve written, or I will write, will be as eloquent or on target as Michael Jackson’s song, “Man in the Mirror.”  It is a true Beacon of Hope.

My call to responsibility ensures that our America Freedoms continue and that the Voting Alert Beacons Vision is realized.

Voting Alert Beacons Vision

• Work toward the day when, through high voter turnout in our elections, we realize once again the genius of our combined American intelligence.  
• Give rise to a new higher standard of civil service and servant leadership.  
• Turn the tide on negative campaigning, and the influence of money and polls, so that elections become events of national renewal.  
• Strike the bell beginning a new period of enlightenment in the American democracy that will ring for millennia to come. 
• Renew and fulfill the original American Dream, the right to vote, for all her citizens, so that America continues to shine as a beacon for the world.

God Bless America!!!
. . .  remember that America’s best days aren’t behind her.   America’s best days are ahead of her.  They always have been and always will be.

Dave

Copyright © 2017 by David William Wygant. All rights reserved.  

Here’s How I Feel

I've been thinking about America all day. Like all of us, I feel shock and great sadness about recent events. Good lives have needlessly been lost and families torn apart. It's hard to find answers, isn't it? Nonetheless, we must move forward into the wind. Straight ahead, we need to continue building our American future. Can we not learn some lessons and build a better America still? In spite of everything that seems wrong, I see a bright future. I believe there is much to look forward to. Why?

Our freedoms and liberties are guaranteed for ALL. That's a fact! That some of us have suffered over the years because others among us would deny those two things must now become a point of focus. This can be corrected! IT MUST BE CORRECTED!

We ALL have another job to do. ALL of us must focus on our responsibilities as citizens. The amount of freedom and liberty any of us enjoy is directly connected to how well we do in fulfilling our responsibilities. We should never expect a fire to warm us if we refuse to give it the wood it needs to burn brightly. In the days ahead, our first responsibility should be to hold and comfort each other. At least in spirit, if not in fact. Let's use this as a time to extent kindness and civility. Let's look out for each other. In so doing, we'll find ourselves united, not divided. The American way!

Lastly, tonight, I also believe we can and will reach MLK's "promised land." He was one of our greatest leaders and I find comfort in his words spoken so long ago.

What do you think?

Let us always remember that honesty and public service are the gears that drive our democracy, and we turn those gears with our RIGHT TO VOTE.   LET’S ALL VOTE!

. . .  remember that America’s best days aren’t behind her.   America’s best days are ahead of her.  They always have been and always will be.

Dave

Copyright © 2016 by David William Wygant. All rights reserved.  

LEADERS HAVE VISION!

On their websites, in their speeches, in what they have written, in interviews, in their public and private performance records, and according to what they have said, or probably will talk about, at debates, the current crop of Presidential candidates have included the following as priorities for our country:  

Jobs, education, national and personal security, improved standard of living, increasing the GDP, military capacity and national defense, strong diplomacy, immigration, tax reform, environmental protection and preservation, and reform of government to increase efficiency and effectiveness.  I may have missed a few, but this is a long list of the most important things.

Here’s a question, without regard to any political position on the issues, but only focused on generally finding improvement for our country in these areas …

WHY HAVEN’T ANY OF THE CANDIDATES PROPOSED THAT WE SEND A CREW TO MARS AND RETURN THEM SAFELY?

It is an act of leadership to see the challenges now and ahead, and propose a vision that takes us safely and confidently forward.  It is an act of leadership to call upon us as a nation to focus on doing something really difficult.  It is an act of leadership to stand up and with a strong character say, “follow me.”

Such a goal would not only cause America to focus on the trail forward, but we would reclaim our leadership position in the world.  I am quite sure that Russian, Iran, ISIS, and the rest of the evil actors would take notice.

The nay-sayers will hide behind the cost of such a mission.  I don’t know if it would take another $10 billion or $100 billion or even $500 billion.  I do know that any of those costs are small compared to the tangible and intangible returns from such a mission.  I do know that any of those costs are small compared to the amount our national debt has increased since 2000.  Finally, I do know that based on books and research easily available, that the “moon landing” in 1969, and what it took to accomplish that, is almost fully responsible for the America we live in today.

Let’s learn from history!   LISTEN TO WHAT ONE OF OUR GREATEST PRESIDENTS SAID WHEN HE SET THE GOAL OF GOING TO THE MOON:

WE THE PEOPLE need to ask the candidates for their Mars vision!  Remember Beacon #3 (Listen/Ignore).  It is fair for us to ask many questions and expect them to respond so we can "listen."

Honesty and public service are the gears that drive our democracy, and we turn those gears with our RIGHT TO VOTE.   LET’S ALL VOTE!

. . .  remember that America’s best days aren’t behind her.   America’s best days are ahead of her.  They always have been and always will be.

Dave

Copyright © 2015 by David William Wygant. All rights reserved.  

AMERICA IS LIKE NO OTHER PLACE

In recent years, our elections have been defined by issues.  Accordingly, we’ve become more and more divided.  The campaigns have turned into win/loss slugfests instead of productive competitions between visions and ideas.  Somewhere in this we’ve forgotten that we’re all Americans.  Somewhere in this we’ve stopped reaching to do hard things because we’re focused inward.

We need to remember once again that America is like no other place.  History tells us that.  Our accomplishments demonstrate that what we can do and create is only limited by the size of our dreams, and the reach of our imaginations.  As we pick the next President, lets find a leader who will challenge us again to dream big dreams, and lead us to expand our national imagination.  

In his course, TO LEAD A NATION, The Presidency in the Twentieth Century, Robert Dallek discusses the reasons why some of the Presidents of the Twentieth Century (Theodore Roosevelt through Ronald Reagan) rose to greatness, while most of us can’t remember who the others were.  

Mr. Dallek identifies several things that the “great Presidents” consistently score high in.  This list of items includes:  Vision, charisma, pragmatism, consensus building, trust or credibility, and luck.

So, now lets start watching the Presidential candidates with all of this in mind.  Let’s look for those who have the capacity to dream big dreams, and imaginations with a long reach.  These are sure signs of leadership.  Also, look for the attributes the Mr. Dallek identified.  If we focus on finding a leader, then that leader will help us find agreement on the many issues.  

Honesty and public service are the gears that drive our democracy, and we turn those gears with our RIGHT TO VOTE.   LET’S ALL VOTE!

. . .  remember that America’s best days aren’t behind her.   America’s best days are ahead of her.  They always have been and always will be.

Dave

Copyright © 2015 by David William Wygant. All rights reserved.  

We Vote for People Not Issues (or we should)

Our democracy encourages, and it’s critical that we have, a vigorous debate about the issues of the day during the campaign and before the election.  The candidates can and should tell us what their plans are for the future, and what their positions are on the issues.  However, after the election, candidates need to remember that they represent and serve not just the voters who voted for them, but also the voters who didn’t.  In many ways the hardest work begins after the election.

VOTE FOR THE MOST QUALIFIED PERSON. 

My post on July 29, 2014, “Quality and Qualified” listed the following personal attributes that we should look for in legislative and congressional candidates

“Problem solver and action oriented, detail minded and pragmatic, consensus and team builder, trustworthy and credible, and service minded and unselfish.”

That same post listed listed the following personal attributes for President.  The same list would apply to governors of the various states.

“Vision, charisma, pragmatism, consensus building, trust or credibility.”

Whether it’s Washington DC or in the various states, we need the best and the brightest working for us solving the toughest problems in history.  Let’s elect the “cream of the crop.”

Spread the word!  Tell your friends about the Voting Alert Beacons!

. . .  remember that America’s best days aren’t behind her.   America’s best days are ahead of her.  They always have been and always will be.

Dave

Copyright © 2014 by David William Wygant. All rights reserved.  

QUALITY AND QUALIFIED

It matters little how any of us feel about specific issues, if the people we elect don’t have certain important and key personal attributes and skills.  This is true whether we’re electing a new President or members of Congress.  We need to also remember that the attributes and skills required to be an effective President are different (but complimentary) from the attributes and skills possessed by a successful Congressperson.

In my post on January 11th of this year, I highlighted Robert Dallek’s course, TO LEAD A NATION, The Presidency in the Twentieth Century, in which he discusses the reasons why some of the Presidents of the Twentieth Century (Theodore Roosevelt through Ronald Reagan) rose to greatness, while most of us can’t remember who the others were.  

Mr. Dallek identifies several things that the “great Presidents” consistently score high in.  This list of six items includes:  Vision, charisma, pragmatism, consensus building, trust or credibility, and luck.

Before we vote in November this year, and elect a new House of Representatives and one third of the Senate, what if we identify the attributes and skills that a member of Congress should bring to the job.  I propose that the list for a Congressperson includes items in five areas:  Problem solver and action oriented, detail minded and pragmatic, consensus and team builder, trustworthy and credible, and service minded and unselfish.  This list also complements Mr. Dallek’s list for Presidents.  Wouldn’t it be nice if the President and Congress could work together no matter what party they might belong to?  Aren’t personal attributes and skills a good place to start so that at a basic level they will all feel like they want to work together.  

All of us have jobs where our personal attributes and skills were the first things considered when we were hired.  Why would we want to do anything different when we vote (hire) for the people we are asking to do the work that needs to be done for America?

No matter how we feel on the issues, let’s elect quality people who can govern, and want to do the difficult work of governing. As voters, our goal should be to elect a Congress that we can give an approval rating above 20%.  If we elect quality and qualified people to represent us, they will know how to help us sort out the issues.

Remember, when we step into the voting booth in November, lets vote for people who are problem solvers and action oriented, detail minded and pragmatic, consensus and team builders, trustworthy and credible, and service minded and unselfish.

Spread the word!  Tell your friends about the Voting Alert Beacons!

. . .  remember that America’s best days aren’t behind her.   America’s best days are ahead of her.  They always have been and always will be.

Dave

Copyright © 2014 by David William Wygant. All rights reserved.  

TO LEAD A NATION

In his course, TO LEAD A NATION, The Presidency in the Twentieth Century, Robert Dallek discusses the reasons why some of the Presidents of the Twentieth Century (Theodore Roosevelt through Ronald Reagan) rose to greatness, while most of us can’t remember who the others were. 

Mr. Dallek identifies several things that the “great Presidents” consistently score high in.  This list of items includes:  Vision, charisma, pragmatism, consensus building, trust or credibility, and luck.

These are personal attributes that we as voters can use to identify who we might vote for, right?  They are key characteristics we can identify for ourselves by listening to what the candidates say and by knowing a little about their track records.  By the way, aren’t these attributes of “Presidential greatness” also qualities we’d like to see more of in all of our public servants and representatives?

The 2014 elections are around the corner, and the 2016 elections not to long after that.  Maybe we should start asking ourselves how the current crop of public servants and representatives “measure up” using this list. 

NOTE:  This list of presidents examined by Mr. Dallek included:  Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kenney, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan.

After Ronald Reagan, the Presidents have been George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barak Obama

For practice, we can also think about how the Presidents since Ronald Reagan measured up.  What do you think?

. . .  remember that America’s best days aren’t behind her.   America’s best days are ahead of her.  They always have been and always will be.

Dave

Copyright © 2013 by David William Wygant. All rights reserved. 

Our greatest Presidents all had the same six qualities!

Robert Dahlek is an American historian who is considered an expert on American Presidents.  Before retiring, he most recently taught at Boston University, and earlier served at Columbia University, UCLA, and Oxford.  He has won the Bancroft Prize and numerous other awards for his scholarship and teaching.

In a series of lectures on the Presidents of the 20th Century, Mr. Dahlek identified which were the most effective Presidents, and the impact they had on the Office of the President itself.  He found six qualities that these Presidents all brought to the job.  While each President faced unique challenges while in office, the same qualities emerged and were visible in each.

At the top of the list and considered most important of the qualities was vision.  Having a sense of direction and knowing what future success looks like.  All of these Presidents were charismatic.  They often had different styles of communication, but they were able to easily connect with the people they lead.  When it came to getting work done and finding a way to move forward they were pragmatic, not dogmatic.  They knew how to get results while keeping the vision in view.  Using their charismatic and pragmatic qualities, they could build a consensus.   In the people they lead, they evoked or created a sense of trust and credibility.  People saw these things in them because they were in fact trustworthy and credible.  The last quality they all seemed to possess was luck.  This could be seen as a “flip of the coin” which they won from one point of view, but it’s easy to wonder if they didn’t create their own luck.

Judge for yourself.

Think of a President who you think was the greatest in your opinion.  It doesn’t matter from what party or when they served.  Just think of your personal choice and also think about how many of the above six qualities they seemed to possess.  Only you will know, but I’d guess that the President you think most highly of had all six.

Now think about candidates Obama and Romney.  At this point in time, how would you grade them on these six qualities?  Write it down.  Then check back every week with the list and re-grade them based on what they’ve said or done in the campaign that week.

Mr. Obama and Mr. Romney you need to grade yourselves too.  No, don’t grade the other guy.  We’ll do that.

At this point in time, I would suggest that both of you are lacking with the first quality.  Start there.  What is your vision of success for America twenty five years from now?  Please forget the issues and go back to creating a vision.  Remember, issues will always divide and visions always unite.


. . .  remember that America’s best days aren’t behind her.   America’s best days are ahead of her.  They always have been and always will be.

Dave

Copyright © 2012 by David William Wygant. All rights reserved.