We’ll get used to it, we always do.
Two thousand extra daily deaths aren’t too bad to those unaffected.
We’ve proven that we are okay with the spontaneous manslaughter of schoolchildren.
We’re doing fine with heart disease and obesity.
All the drug consumption doesn’t hold us back.
You know we tolerate endless wars, racism, and bigotry.
It’s not a culture of death; you can’t save everyone despite your efforts.
It’s survival of the fittest, and in a culture that values livelihood over lives, ego over accountability, and “likes” over facts, we desperately want to fit in.
We look in the mirror to see what others will see before we venture out. Maybe we grimace a bit, but “whatcha gonna do,” we gotta get going.
Although …
Losing 2,000 additional souls every sunset, represents thousands of stories that will go untold, fewer hugs given, and fewer laughs to brighten the day.
You know what could happen if we started leading instead of following or guessing.
Imagine if we had leadership that so valued the safety of our schoolchildren and our neighbors, that we eradicated the deadly lottery we send them into each day.
What could we accomplish if we lead healthier lifestyles, making healthier choices, and topped the charts with better health outcomes, rather than expenditures?
Effective leadership has no use for superiority complexes or tending a botanical garden of egos. Picture a place where accountability is chosen, not avoided, a place where opinions are debated, and facts are a given.
Imagine building a culture of empathy, curiosity, dignity, and respect.
What could happen if you used a mirror, not to preview what others see, but to instead hold a gaze upon yourself for an uncomfortably long time? Long enough to recognize the other you hidden beneath the layers you’ve added.
Now, reacquainted, you take responsibility. You identify where you can make the most positive difference, and you do it, thanklessly, without expectation of praise. You lead with love because our ongoing infatuation with complacency leaves too many broken-hearted. You lead with love because it is stronger.