STATION EDITORIAL
Posted September 25, 2024
This is a station editorial, I’m Randal J. Miller, station president.
I’m going back to our archives and share with you part of an editorial I did way back during the pandemic on February 7th, 2021. I was about 2/3rd’s the way thru a 2018 book by author Doris Kearns Goodwin called “Leadership in Turbulent Times” describing how Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Lyndon B. Johnson--took the country thru various challenges our country went thru.
Goodwin describes Lincoln as providing Transformational Leadership, Theodore Roosevelt providing Crisis Leadership, F-D-R providing Turnaround Leadership, and L-B-J providing Visionary Leadership.
The most striking thing about all 4, is that they all assembled people from all points of view and all political parties at the time, to help thru country thru what it was going thru at that time. There was disagreement, but all 4 leaders listened to all sides, discussed the pros and cons of all sides, negotiated with all sides, and developed a consensus that all sides supported. There was no demonizing one side or the other. All points of view were listened to, and everyone was involved in arriving at a consensus.
Fast forward to the last decade or so. Whether in Washington or Springfield, politicians have demonized the other side--whether it's left or right--making the atmosphere to come to a consensus on anything nearly impossible.
Our country's founders over 200 years ago, set our democracy up with all sides' point of views considered to reach a consensus.
Despite all the political rancor, the country is still basically to the left or right of the center, or as I call it, the middle.
The answer is still in the middle, whether we were in a Civil War, the industrial revolution, the Great Depression, the Civil Rights Movement, or a coronavirus outbreak.
The answer is still in the middle. Politicians need to show more statesmanship and the ability to bring all sides, no matter which side we’re talking about, to the table. Only then will our democracy work the way the Founding Fathers created it. That's our opinion...we welcome yours. Our e-mail address is editorial@randyradio.com.
