Page 2858 - 1970S

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Gamer Ted Armstrgng
SPIAKS OUT!
·WhatWe Need Are Leaders–
Not Followers
Do you voters realiza the terrible
troublesyou'recauslngourpoll–
ticians? You're causing no end
of concem to the Presiden! ot
theU.S.. members of hfscabinet, chal–
lengers in the Republlcan Party, and
about ten or so Oemocratic hopefuls.
The majar news media lndicate that
the voters can't seem to make up
their minds on the lssues and the is–
sue bearefS. "Voters themselves,"
accordlng to one poli, "dcin't know
what they want and whO they iike.''
And that, accordfng to polftical ana–
fysts, is why we sea all ot the back–
trackfng on major lssues In political
clrcles, the shifting of stances and
positlons. and even hea!Holling in
top govemmental offices. The rea–
son? All over the United States. politl–
cfans are tryfng to galn popular
support for the upcomfng bicenten–
nlal elections.
lt's getting increasfngfy difficult for
the pofiticians lo satlsty the people
back home. For' example, there's the
fssue of government spendlng.
Everybody seems lo agree - in prfn–
ciple: reduce federal spending; cut
back on the giant governmelj.t bu–
reaucracy. And so taking the pubnc
pulse, pollticlans in Congress plus
the presidential hopefuls and candi–
datas jump on the bandwagon and
pcoclalm: "lf you elecl me, 1'11 cut
back the federal budget."
But then a lot of people, having
aecond thoughts, begin to think: But
lhe cltles have gol to be helped. We
need lo salve the problems of Amer–
lca's sprawl ing "slurbs" (the suburbs
that have become sfums) as well as
our decaying lnner clty areas. We
need to spend huge sums to modern–
Iza mass transit. We need lo commit
years of effort and billlons of dolars
to devefop new sources of energy.
We have to have thls and that pro–
gram to stimulate home bulfders, and
any and every other depressed ln–
dustry. And we need massive alloca–
tions of f&!leral spendlng for the
Pentagon which is always lobbying
for the latest in ultra-sophisticated,
unbitlievably expensive new hard–
ware. (At least we've got to be abfe to
14
afford the weapons to glve away to
lhe Arabs so they can defend them–
selves against us in case we decide
to go over there to take the energy
we need so desperately.)
And· so all the polltlclans lhat had
to leap on the bandwagon l o advo–
cate cuts in federal spendlng perk up
thelr ears again. And what do they
hear? They hear séreams and críes
for more welfare, more food stamps,
more programs to combat unemploy–
ment In total, more federal spending,
not less.
,So now we see tt{e problem faclng
a polltician who wants lo perpetuate
hlmself In en office. He's got to leap
back In the other directlon, put on a
dlfferent hat. and promlse: "Okay,
we'll hefp you out."
The trick is the publlc also wants a
tax cut. But how are you going to
take away revenues from the federal
government and st ilf feave the gov–
ernmenl with enough money for all
lhese programs the people want?
You can see why the poNtlcians are
In turmolf these days. They just don't
knowwhere to leap next.
Back in 1967 or early 1968 the
press was musing about Lyndon
Johnson's chances tor reelectlon
(before hls dramatic announcement
that he woufd not run agafn.) lt was
reportad in the politlcal gossip col–
umn of one news magazine that the
Vietnam War would very quickly be
wound down because Presiden!
Johnson wouldn't dere face the vot–
ers with a war on hls hands! -
To me that was an fndictment; 1
safd on the World Tomorrow radio
program shortly alterward: "This
can't be trua. You're not trying to
tell all of us that a Presiden! can
either start or end a war based upon
what the voters like - that he can
either start or stop a war depending
upon what is polftlcally expedient,
dependl('lg upon the exigeneles of the
moment?''
Whllt a Leadet' Does
lf 1 sense things correclly, 1 think
the voters of the Unlted States are
lookfng for real leaders: But they
don't see any on the horizon. A
leader lnnovates. A leader creates. A
teader has vision. A leader salves
problems promptly when they arise,
or, even better, before they arise,
whenever possible.
Why don't we see politlcians galh–
erlng facts, accumulatlng da~. going
to counselors and advisors and
boarda andgroups of people who are
lntelllgent and knowledgeable in' ma–
jor problem areas - such as the
economy, agricultura, energy, for–
efgn affairs - studylng, realfy educat–
ing themselves, coming • to firm
convlctions and concluslons from
lhose studies - not kom shifting
public oplnion - and then tening the
publlc where they stand?
There may be as many different
proposed sotutions for a probfem as
there are peopfe studyfng the protr
lem. But the point is that those facts,
those studies, thal advfce. should be
the' opinlon tormera, not an emotional
and vacillating public. A man of
strong conviction, a man of purpose,
of determination, would come lo con–
clusions based upon the facts as he
knows them and as they' re available
to hlm. And he would be able lo artic–
ulate lhose beliets. You, the ·voter,
would then know exactiy where that
politlcian stood. You could then vote
dependlng exactly on whether you
liked hls position on ma}or lssues. But
that's not how the vast majority of our
polftlclansoperate these days.
"One year before the 1976 elecllon
both parties are·confused and uncer–
taln,' ' says one news artfcle. "Politi-
Ne'ler has soc/ety been In
such a state of·muddled ·
confusion. Much of the
blame can be lald at the
doorstep of our " leaders,"
who are following,
not leading.
clans don't ·know where to jump lo
satlsty public opinion ."
The wilk>'-the-wisp, elusiva thing
callad public opinion - the goddess
ot politics - blind, whimslcal, subject
to extreme vagarles and caprice, !s
lfke the mythical siren on the rocks.
Alf the politicians are seeklng to pur–
sue her temptingllr'efrafn as she skit–
ters around and through the
labyrinthine chlcanery of shifting
popular will. They take stands de–
pendlng upon a shifting trend, ·but
thelr positfons are only good as long
as that trend is stflf evldent in the
pofls.
la Thla Leadershlp?
When 1 listened to Mr. Ford, al
the "Sunday Night Massacre" press
conference, singing the praises of
the men he had replaced. 1 heard
sorne o( the strongest possible rea-
sons why he oughl to keep theml
When 1 heard what a "superb job"
James Schlesinger dfd and the won–
dertuf things that Mr. Colby had ac–
complfshed, and what great feflows
they are - it sounded to me like all of
those wondertul statemenls were the
best reason why he oughl lo keep
!hose men "on the team." But then.
the Presiden!, without admitting the
real reasons behind lhe shake-up -
growfng concem over hls own re–
electlon chances - would only con–
cede hls rightlul prfvllege ot picking
"hls own team." That's politics.
In the 59th chapter ot the t:Jook of
lsaiah is a prophecy that talks about
leadership. lt talks about a confused
scrambling tor answers, for solutions
- aflln vain. 1t says: "None calleth for
justfce, nor any pleadeth for truth:
they trust in vanity, and speak fies;
they conceive mischief, and bring
torth inlquity. They hatch cockalrice'
(adder's) eggs, and weave the spi–
der's web: he that eateth of their
eggs dieth, and that which is crushed
breaketh out into a viper."
Why? The passage continuas:
"Thefr webs shafl not become gar–
ments, neith'er shall they cover them–
selves with their works: their works
are works ot inlqulty." 11 would be a
surprising thing 1-suppose lo see a
mother hen sitting on an egg, ex–
pectlng it lo hatch - and when it
does she jumps up wílh a squawk of
alarm to find that there's a snake in–
sfde the shell instead ot a fluffy littfe
yelfow chick. Thal would not only be
a shock, but also a bitter disappoint–
ment. And this chapter - the 59th
chapter of lsaiah - depicts how the
plana ot men, thelr schemes, their
poflticking end up the same way.
1t says further: "Thelr feet run to
evlj, and they make haste lo shed in–
nocent blood: thel r l houghts are
thoughts of iniquity; wasting and de–
structlon are in thelr paths." Notice
verse 8. 1t says: " The way of peace
they know not; and there is no judg–
mentln their goings."
Therefore. as if with one volee, the
people cry out (verse 9): ·:Therefore
ls judgment lar from us, neither doth
justice overtake us: we wait for light,
but behold obscurity; for brightness,
but we walk in darkness; We grope
tor the wall like the bilnd, and we
grope as lf we had no eyes: we
stumble al noonday as In the night;
we're In desolale placas as dead
men."
Never has our soclety been in such
a state of muddled confusion. Much
ot the blarne can be lafd at the door–
step of our "leaders" - who are fol–
lowing. not leading. Leaders ought to
take a flrm stand on what they truly
beffeve in no matter what lhe con–
sequences are - even ff ft threatens
to cost thern' an elecllon. They should
lel people knQw, where they really
stand - not scramble franlically to
flnd out and gel behlnd what the ma–
jority wants. Because, believe it or
not, what people want mfght not al–
ways be good for them. o
WEEK ENDINO NOVEMBER 22, 197S