By Mr. Maverick
People who know me describe me as being rather punctilious. I concur. I really am selective with my words. I find vocabulary activities quite intriguing. They challenge your creativity and significantly enhance your brains’ neuroplasticity. So, let’s get a little dopamine rush with the following vocabulary task.
“Describe the 2024 US presidential debate in one felicitous word.”
Feel free to roll your eyes and express your frustration with more than one word for the occasion.
By now, you must either be dumbfounded or filled with a good deal of adjectives. Personally, without really putting too much thought into it, I chose my word instantaneously.
And, disheartening it was.
Unfortunately, both sides of the political aisle seem unable to grasp what the majority of the American people want and need. Both candidates contented themselves with the exchange of vituperative remarks and offensive insults.
In other words, substance took a back seat. Intemperance and the battle of impressions overshadowed the very essence of all the vexing issues that concern both the American and the international audience.
Leaders must always keep their finger on the pulse of society. More so, in our globalized world, leaders must be able to read into international developments, especially in the case of the world’s most powerful country.
However, following the presidential debate, the message came through loud and clear: neither of the two candidates is suitable for the position. It’s not just a matter of circumstances. It is, primarily, a matter of sheer competence. Neither of the two possesses the equanimity and the sagacity to lead the US at this critical juncture.
To put it differently, the American public is basically faced with the decision of choosing “the lesser of two evils.”
People get the leaders they deserve. Or so they say. But, do they?
I am convinced that the American People deserve something better. If you do not share this view as such, allow me to rephrase. I firmly believe that the world’s biggest power needs to have a sane and able leadership. It is imperative. Both for its own sake and for the sake of international equilibrium.
After all, if the leading wagon wobbles, the whole train is at risk of going off the rails, and that is something that no one wants to witness.
Amid the current geopolitical flux, it is clear that we are navigating tough, uncharted waters. The world needs someone to steer the ship in the right direction.
We could easily say that luck of leadership has become the plight of our age. Nonetheless, when it comes to the US, it is a matter of magnitudes. The absence of a skilled leader in the world’s most powerful country that carries the “control knob” of world affairs is pernicious.
Both presidential candidates will certainly resist being blown about like a feather. However, it is incumbent upon the political system of the US to reshuffle the deck and give the floor to the next generation of potential leaders. It is a pressing need for the future of humanity.
“Walk slowly, and you will go far”, says a wise Japanese proverb. But it isn’t age it is referring to.
