Why We Need Leaders

The following is an editorial by ALO Director, Roger L. Misso.

Every morning the sun rises and falls, and men and women across the world are working to make a living for themselves--and for us. Most of the components of this HP Pavilion laptop computer I'm typing on were made somewhere in Southeast Asia; assembled and shipped to the United States; sold by Sears or Wal-Mart or even TigerDirect. And here it is in my lap--the handiwork of literally dozens of individuals (and machines).

But we don't see our laptops or any of our material objects that way. We expect to have laptop computers, and we expect HP and Dell to produce them so that they perform flawlessly--and when they don't, we get rid of them and singularly boycott that particular laptop supplier.

So it is with the notion of leadership. People destined to be great leaders are born, they go to grade school, then they go through college, and eventually graduate studies and on to a career. Their lives have been "assembled" by dozens, if not hundreds or thousands, of individuals along the way with the intention of helping to grow and produce an outstanding citizen of the world.

The purposes of the American Leaders Organization are a profound way to make those leaders--because they are going to be you and I. Why should we wait to solve the problems of our time? Why should we sit idly by, hanging on for the ride? Leadership does not start with a new job, or a new position, or a new election. Leadership starts within us. It is and must be a pledge to ourselves, that we are going to take our place in the world and make it the best that we can.

And it doesn't matter what our place is--whether you are a farmer, a beautician, a grocery store clerk, an assembly line worker, or a US Senator, your job is vitally important to your well-being, your family, and it directly impacts the well-being of the United States of America.

So here we are. What better way to lead the nation than to promote a citizenry fluent in their own confident leadership capabilities? It is not the dream of this organization to change the world--it is our dream to make the world a better place for us all to live.

It is not our purpose to change the world--a grandiose notion that will surely breed a naive sort of failure. Rather, it is our purpose to bring people together--to talk, to read, to write, to listen, to debate, to laugh, to live. Where one organization and one people cannot change the world, a nation of people can. And we're not talking about wars or revolutions--we're talking about the promise of peace, the promise of democracy, and the notion that, as a free people, no force on Earth--not even terrorism--can bring us down.

Like our laptops, people expect good leaders--not perfect ones--but leaders who will be reliable, who will be durable, and who will make their lives better. We're not just talking about leaders in government, either--our jobs, schools, clubs, and families need this kind of leadership, as well.

So today, we venture down the path of knowledge, history, camaraderie, and dialogue towards a better world.

And here we are, back at the keyboard.