Numerous friends are attempting interventions to jolt me out of my “assume the best” daze; most notable was this beautifully-worded plea from Bob: “Diane, she’s a creationist, for God’s sake!”
Like the holdouts in New Orleans, I so want this time to be different. To keep my little cave reality intact…to click my heels and be back in Kansas, where ethics and character live….
ok ok – maybe it isn’t “conviction” ….my last post evoked images of authoritarian leaders who had great conviction…or even W…
Perhaps it is “character” then which captures the essence of a leader (person) I can support …and by that, I mean someone who is indeed willing to sacrifice image, power, personal comfort to do the “right” thing – while also willing to change his/her mind based on reasonable principles, rather than force the “right” thing to be his/her thing.
James Joyce could do stream of consciousness!
A brief call with my non-registered non-voting sister compelled me to address this question: what makes Palin’s inexperience better than Obama’s inexperience?
Conviction. For example, I want someone to answer a question when asked rather than dance around it, and to make sacrifices to do the right thing.
If someone lacks experience, they can surround themselves with the right people to fill the knowledge gaps; but if they lack conviction, all the knowledge in the world won’t lead them to make the right choices.