By: Gerald Loeffers
Hello, my NoisyRoom friends and readers! I have a question for you… what makes a good leader great? And does he need a grand vision in order to lead a country? I say yes, he does and throughout history it’s been noted that the greatest and the most notorious leaders in America had a vision resulting in either good will or disaster. Look at Ted Cruz of Texas; a man with a very clear vision of what he wants to do in government and he knows what the people want. But wait… there’s a catch. The GOP, which has been infected by the radical progressives and who have been floundering without a vision, have been his most aggressive critics with everyone from John Flipper McCain calling him a Wacko Bird to other so-called RINO conservatives calling him worse. With all the history reading I have been doing, I have noticed the pattern of leaders with vision that have made an impact for ill or for good in America and around the world. But, let’s look at 8 examples of leaders with a vision — either good or bad and the impact it has had over the last century.
AMERICA AS THE SHINY BEACON ON THE HILL
Yes folks… it’s time for another Founding Fathers teachable moment. George Washington was a man who at the age of 15 was a professional land surveyor and a general by 25. He was an unwilling president in later years and had a clear vision for a young America, where men could worship the God of their choosing, raise a family on his own property and live free from tyranny and oppression. He wanted America to be a fresh start for anyone who wanted to come and work hard, earn his keep and help his fellow man. All of these things you can do in America. America was the beacon of freedom for all who came here. Benjamin Franklin, who is my personal favorite Founder, also had a great vision for America even though he wasn’t president. He was still a leader of early America in other ways. He was a prolific inventor and the first franchise businessman in American history. One of his grandest visions was the common man’s access to higher education. The earliest universities were a project of Franklin’s. He was also a major player in getting the early hospitals going and he started fire fighter brigades as well. He also built the first home insurance company. Franklin also envisioned a more widespread use of his electrical theories and thus created a whole new enterprise.
We are wide awake! Well, what does that mean? During the 1850s, the Whig Party was blundering and waning because its vision for America was fading fast and others were tired of them. Several broke away from the Whig Party and started a new party with a new vision. Thus the REPUBLICAN PARTY was born. The new young party had a vision of a freed up America and an end to slavery. Then a tall awkward man named Abraham Lincoln, who was a lawyer, was voted in as America’s first Republican president and he had a vision of America eradicating slavery altogether. Then after the Civil War, he wanted to welcome the South back, to forgive them and let the wounded nation heal from this terrible war. But that speech was never to be, because of a two bit actor who envisioned Lincoln as a tyrant for some reason and decided to murder him. Some stories I have heard said that Lincoln had visions of his own murder many days before hand, but who knows?
The loyal opposition party? Yes, at one time the Democratic Party was known as this and yes, the radical progressives were already entrenched by the early 1900s, but not all had been infected in that party. John F. Kennedy, a young bright former Navy man, came into office and was a man who had grand visions for America at many levels. He envisioned an America that would jump forward to space and walk on the moon. He was a man who most didn’t make the connection that he was the first Democratic president to cut taxes across the board — a move that Ronald Reagan would copy 20 years later. He himself at one time was a Democrat. He also knew after the deadly Watts riots that civil rights needed to change for the better. He even had a fine understanding of changes in warfare doctrine. With the help of a smart ass New York UDT sailor, the US NAVY SEALs were born. There were failures during his time and yes, he did things that I would disagree with. Hell, JFK was a Second Amendment supporter. But just as things were getting good and JFK wanted to get out of Vietnam, he got gunned down because of his vision for America or despite it, we will never know.
The end of the 1970s saw the great malaise… gas lines, dead DELTA Force troopers, an endless hostage situation and an economy in the tank with President Jimmy Carter looking like an ass.
So, during the 1980 presidential campaign, the former governor and actor, Ronald Reagan, came around and rightfully whooped Carter’s ass in a landslide election. Reagan had a big vision ready for America. It was… drum roll please… back to the basics, which meant smaller government as much as possible, budget minding, national defense, tax cuts and a general hands off policy in American’s lives. He would also envision a time in going back to the Founding principles that made America great, while bringing back the beacon on top of the hill again. He also had a goal to defeat the Russians and he would do so without a shot being fired. It worked! Reagan was more of a Libertarian at heart than anything else. His own reading habits mirrored mine and Reagan was his own best speech writer. His vision for America came across clearly in his speeches, of which I have copies. Then another sick fellow thought that his vision of Reagan and Jodi Foster were of more importance and he tried to gun Reagan down.
Again, I ask you… is a grand vision important to true leadership? Well, I think it helps out and look at the positive side of a grand vision and great leadership for any country. These were the four visions of positive leadership and greatness in America. Part 2 will deal with when a leader’s vision is born of hell and misery. We will focus on Woodrow Wilson, FDR, Jimmy Carter and that other guy. So, please do me favor… please comment below on the need for vision and why it’s needed for leadership. I would really like to know your thoughts. It’s interactive!
