Perceptive Insights

We received an e-mail recently which contained some perceptive insights about the need for and lack of leadship in our country. The content comes from a new book by former Chrysler Corporation Chairman Lee Iacocca.

As we in this community look around us at the town, county, state and federal governments, the insights from this exerpt ring true. It's worth sharing them with our readers in the hope that that the call to action Mr. Iacocca challenges our citiznes to exercise will commence.

It won't be easy. Those who raise their voices will be challenged by the status quo and interests who desire to protect their grip on the system. You may be deamonized, castigated, called a myriad of adjectives to deter your concerns and criticisms. But you can make a difference.

No where do Mr. Iacocca's remarks and insights apply more than right here in our quiet little town. Read and decide for yourself .

'Where Have All Our Leaders Gone?'

Remember Lee Iacocca, the man who rescued Chrysler Corporation from it's death throes? He has a new book, and here are some excerpts. _____________________________________________________________

'Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening?Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder.We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff,we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean upafter a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, 'Staythe course.'Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America, not the damned 'Titanic'.

I'll give you a sound bite: 'Throw all the bums out!' You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country anymore.The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs. While we're fiddling in Iraq, the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving 'pom-poms'instead of asking hard questions. That's not the promise of the 'America' myparents and yours traveled across the ocean for. I've had enough. How about you?I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if you're not outraged.

This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have.The Biggest 'C' is Crisis ! Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis. It's easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory. Or send someone else's kids off to war when you've never seen a battlefield yourself. It's another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down.

On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any othertime in our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the ashes. A Hell of a Mess. So here's where we stand. We're immersed in a bloody war with no plan for winning and no plan for leaving. We're running the biggest deficit in the history of the country. We're losing the manufacturing edge to Asia,while our once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs. Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent energy policy. Our schools are in trouble. Our borders are like sieves. The middleclass is being squeezed every which way. These are times that cry out for leadership. But when you look around, you've got to ask: 'Where have all the leaders gone?' Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where are thepeople of character, courage, conviction, omnipotence, and common sense?

I may be a sucker for alliteration, but I think you get the point. Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making us take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo? We've spent billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to do is react to things that have already happened. Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane Katrina. Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to the hurricane, or demanding accountability for the decisions that were made in the crucial hours after the storm. Everyone's hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping it doesn't happen again. Now, that's just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a plan. Figure out what you're going to do the next time. Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that there could ever be a time when 'The Big Three' referred to Japanese car companies? How did this happen, and more important, what are we going to do about it? Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down the debt, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care problem.The silence is deafening.

But these are the crises that are eating away at our country and milking the middle class dry. I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn't elect you to sit on your asses and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked and our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity. What is everybody so afraid of? That some bonehead on Fox News will call them a name? Give me a break. Why don't you guys show some spine for a change?

Had Enough? Hey, I'm not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom here. I'm trying to light a fire. I'm speaking out because I have hope I believe in America. In my lifetime I've had the privilege of living through some of America's greatest moments. I've also experienced some of our worst crises: the'Great Depression', 'World War II', the 'Korean War', the 'KennedyAssassination', the 'Vietnam War', the 1970s oil crisis, and the struggles of recent years culminating with 9/11. If I've learned one thing, it's this: 'You don't get anywhere by standing on the sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action. Whether it's building a better car or building a better future for our children,we all have a role to play.

That's the challenge I'm raising in this book.It's a call to 'Action' for people who, like me, believe in America. It's not too late, but it's getting pretty close. So let's shake off the crap and go to work. Let's tell 'em all we've had 'enough.'

Excerpted from 'Where Have All the Leaders Gone?'.Copyright (c) 2007 by Lee Iacocca. All rights reserved.