By Wesley Hackenberg

By Wesley Hackenberg

With the nation going down the metaphorical toilet with a new crisis or breaking news story creeping around every corner, many people are looking towards the leaders of the free world to direct the public in the right direction.

I’m still trying to figure out who the leaders are.

An argument that is heard and often overused is that this country has leaders, but they just aren’t doing a very efficient job right now.

Well, it is fair to say that if they are not doing a superior job leading, then they are not true leaders, and maybe they shouldn’t be leading at all.

The popular trend that only seems to increase is the idolizing of celebrities.

Now not too many people can deny the power of an actor’s performance in a movie, but off screen, they are just like everyone else, looking for someone to lead the way.

The only thing they want to publicly announce is whomever they endorse for president, which is just another possible leader.

Look back in our world’s history and you can see we had ordinary people step up to perform excellent feats of leadership.

Names like Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela and Abraham Lincoln amongst others that stand out.

These are people that seem almost non-existent in today’s world.

Now it only seems that with a “war on terror”, and an economy dropping quicker then you can say Dow Jones and unemployment higher then ever, the men and women that are expected to be guiding us through tough times are the ones causing the fiasco in the first place.

What needs to be done is to restore faith in the country’s leaders, and to do that, we need better leaders, plain and simple.

This is only going to happen if the people of our country will wake up and inform themselves and stand up for they truly believe in.

People can complain all they would like, but this will not achieve any strength.

Action is needed, and intelligence is wanted to achieve a realistic accomplishment.

If the leaders are not leading us, then the people should have the right in this once Democratic nation to stand up and say enough is enough.

The people are the ones who create the leaders, and grant them the powers.

If the people crave the leadership they imagine, they should not have to wait around and expect it to come to them, but create it.

Right now, in the capitols of the 50 states, they are trying to the best of their ability to represent the ideas of their people, but without the people voicing their opinion, they have nothing to work with.

Many ordinary people will not speak up because they feel like one voice will not be heard and therefore, will not even try.

This mentality is the downfall of the leadership in the country.

With the election coming up, this is one example to go out and voice your opinion.

Though the popular vote is only half the battle with the electorate college running the show, it is the small steps people take that lead to greater leaps.

It is time to ask yourself who is leading you.

When the change you want is not done, maybe it is time to take charge and do what you think needs to be done.

Gandhi once said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”

If one can take these words to heart, then no one should be able to stop the change from happening when it leads to a greater good.

Be the leader you wish to see in the world.