General - Required Reading for Presidential Candidates Or, Why January 20, 2009 Cannot Come Soon Enough
In our throwaway world and particularly in the modern lunacy that is the electoral process, the concept of societal measurement has become passe. Barack Obama zings Hillary Clinton, Hillary Clinton zings Barack Obama all while John Edwards practically needs to stand on his head to get his (often eloquent) messages across to anyone who will listen. On the other side of the aisle it's unclear who's on first, Mitt Romney with his perfect hair and corporate persona (see elsewhere in this blog about my real life civil (aviation) union with Mitt Romney), John McCain's surly yet rehearsed defense of America, Mike Huckabee's Bible thumping, Guiliani's been there/done that celebrity and don't forget Ron Paul, ok, forget Ron Paul.
The message we hear is that there are petty disputes among the candidates, hair splitting issues dividing most of each party's candidates and an over reliance on the decision making capacity of a handful of people who have nothing better to do than to sit in coffee shops all day. These men and a woman are willing to sacrifice themselves for the greater good of the Amercian People, but in order to be heard or to rise above the din of the media, they must make mockerys of themselves and the process.
Wouldn't it be nice to hear not only about change (and boy, do we need a change at the White House), but also about the leadership that everyday Americans can follow and be encouraged by? I think that presidential candidates should be given a required reading list, including (feel free to add to my list):
Profiles in Courage or any anthology of John F. Kennedy's speeches. He and his handlers understood the challenges faced by the American people better than anyone of their day. They knew that America had lost its 50's naivete and needed to become more introspective. Introspection was the enemy of the anarchists of the day, what a wonderful world we would have if JFK, Martin Luther King, Jr., Robert Kennedy and the 58,209 dead young men and women in Vietnam had never left our shores.
All Quiet On The Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque. To see war this closely and then bring America into an interminable war would be incongruous. This short book speaks volumes about the tragedy and generational wasting that war brings without the glimmer of redemption. What's notable is that this book was originally written and distributed in Germany during the 1920's, but Adolph Hitler's messages of hate all but drowned out its message of redemption and hope from misery. Good thing the Nazis didn't burn every copy. There is a classic film by Lewis Milestone in 1930 that was the most graphically violent movie ever made up until that time, a later 1979 adaption with "John Boy" as our hero homogenized the story for modern viewers. Rumor has it that it is being remade again next year. The message never wavers - war is Hell.
Sacco & Vanzetti (New England Remembers), by my neighbor, Eli Bortman. American leaders need to know the story of these two men. Their story tells the dangers of public opinion in the courtroom. The trial and the many years of appeals sound more like something from tabloid television than anything on tabloid television. The tragedy here is that we keep repeating ourselves. Injustice is no stranger to our modern world. A little awareness might help here too.
The Ten Trusts: What We Must Do to Care for The Animals We Love by Jane Goodall. It's more than a pop piece about pet care, more telling about the special relationship that living things share on our planet. The White House should include a cat and a dog, maybe even a horse. I believe that not only does caring for animals calm the soul, but it reminds us that we are stewards of the Earth. Jane Goodall committed her life to learning more about the animal kingdom. There are lessons in her work for the leader of the free world. An afternoon with Michael Vick in the Georgia State Penitentiary might be instructional as well, not only animal husbandry, but also in wasted opportunity by our youth.
Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom. Knowing more about aging and death can only be a good thing as the aging Baby Boomers test the limits of the US Governments services such as Medicaid and Social Security.
Uncle Tom's Cabin Or, Life Among the Lowly by Harriet Beacher Stowe. As much as any book on the subject of slavery, this one emblazons the message that America has come a long way and has a long way to go in the area of multicultural relations.
The Kama Sutra. Seriously. America needs a President who loves and is personally comfortable and satisfied with their own life. History has taught us of so many misanthropic rulers who take their own personal dissatisfaction out in their decisions. Personally, I want a sexually satisfied President.
An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith. If your presidential candidate can't tell you what this book says, even in a few words, do not vote for that candidate. This book forms the basis for modern economics, it might be almost 300 years old, but the basic tenet that economics is as much art as it is science leaps from the pages.
I think I just made the syllabus for Professor Gosselin's new course "So You Want to Be President of the United States?" I can think of dozens more books, poems and speeches worth reading, but I'm realistic that our current crop of candidates only have so much time to read between cornball "town meetings" and talking to a fixture at a coffee shop in Nowheresville.
Save us Michael Bloomberg.
