Palin, or how not to choose a candidate in the US election

 I wrote this piece on Gaia, essentially to help me better understand, and yet it may help someone else understand too.

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Palin, what is the fuss?

I’d like to propose a methodology to help those of us in confusion with how global politics and candidates should be considered. Rather than rely on our own emotional attraction to a party or candidate, we have to suspend our reflexive thoughts, and consider the brutal facts. The President and Vice President jobs in the White House are the most powerful positions in the world. Some consideration by the voter is required, surely.

We look for integrity. Does the candidate have enough? Do they talk of small issues, or big issues. Have they the humility to display personal error? Or do they change their story and cover it up?

We look for incisiveness. Do they show the capacity of a chess-player to see a few moves ahead? Do they have the required street smarts to take on deceptive nations. Can they see through the smoke and spin that surrounds them?

We look for charm. Do they show a relaxed confidence, even in the most daunting of circumstances? Do they make us feel like we have chosen the right person?

We look for discipline. Do they show tenacity with dealing with the details that really matter. Do they understand cause and effect? Will the candidate be smart, diligent and prepared before they do anything that will incur huge consequences.

We look for action. Do they seem capable of making a big decision - quickly if need be. When decisiveness is required, will it be thought through? Do they gather the necessary input, while under pressure, until they have the best solution. Or do they shoot from the hip with a hunch, as their main solution to the problem. 

We look for vision. Does the candidate see ahead, see the complexity of the situation? Is the candidate reflective and patient enough to get past the surface in order to see the real motivations of lobbyists, corporations, institutions, nations and societies and most importantly self-interest.

We look for peace. Do they understand that the majority of wars have been based on poor understanding of cause and effect? That pride and prejudice have played their hands too many times in the lives of human kind, and that our place on the planet as the smartest mammal has not proven itself yet. Does the candidate understand that the USA and the rest of the world need to work on being friends much harder than we work on being enemies, and to work toward a global move toward this end.

We look for perspective. The people that are most effected by poor management and poor decisions, are the workers. We live on a planet full of bad and poorly trained managers and disenfranchised and pissed-off workers. We need competition to evolve, and we need social responsibility to protect the lesser-gifted. This tension of opposites is the mother of our political reinvention. This perspective is the only creative energy we can use. Is the candidate in touch with this reality? Or are they one-sided and fixed in old thought.

We look for wisdom. Wisdom comes from patience and awareness. It is not intelligence or knowledge. It is experience that has been reflected upon and seriously reviewed against the history of thought, and the modern fields of sociology, psychology and philosophy. Wisdom is the ground on which we rely being there when we fall down. Does the candidate offer this? Can they help us live with uncertainty when wisdom has not caught up with the situation?

We look for safety. We want protected, but at what cost? Have we thought about the cost of oil-dependance on our grandchildren, when there may be none left, and nations are fighting over the dregs? Has the candidate thought about this? Or are they stuck in a short-term fix over a long-term (and way more complex) solution.

We look for a hero. The role of the hero is to bring new life to the land of the wounded king - in order to revive it. This is not an easy job, and this is why we call it heroic. The public is usually against change, even when it is sorely needed. Does the candidate offer something new that is not entirely popular and do they have what it takes to see it through?

We look for someone to blame. We all need a surrogate, we all need someone to take our annoyance and disbelief. Will the candidate be able to bear this uncomfortable position without causing reactionary action as punishment?

We look for someone who punches their weight. Do they understand the sheer magnitude and intricacies of what they will become involved with. Could the candidate potentially be in over their heads?

Your decision

You vote. It is your responsibility. You pick the best all-round player, not just for the USA, but for the world. Your decision will reverberate around the globe, just like the last one. Are you going to act before you think?

It’s not about Palin, it’s about you. We project all these requirements on our leaders, but we need them in ourselves in order to make good choices. 

Ask these questions of yourself first, who you vote for then should be pretty easy, you will feel like you know what they have to do, and what kind of person that looks like.

And if the answer is Republican, then you are not being honest. Honesty is seeing reality. Try again. Take the red pill.

p.s. I will blog about the movie The Dark Knight soon. It has some very clear messages about the price of responsibility.