mericans have been bombarded with the question of who among the presidential candidates would make the best Commander in Chief. Of course, the Commander in Chief, the President of the United States, is the head of the armed forces. As such, the reasoning goes, he or she must be willing to use military force at the blink of an eye. Why is it that to so many people, the infinitive “to command” means only “to dominate?” If that were true, what would it actually mean “to command respect”?
Bullies dominate but they don’t command respect. They attempt to force submission through the actual or implied threat of injury or death. The aggrieved victim usually will not rest until the bully is dealt with one way or the other. Those who command respect on the other hand, can do so in a totally peaceful manner. By treating people the way they would like to be treated, these commanders rarely have to worry about reprisals.
People command respect by demonstrating moral discipline, good character, sound judgment and empathy for the less fortunate. The last two Commanders in Chief demonstrated a deficit of these qualities. Neither, I might add, had military experience, unless you’d be willing to count George Bush’s no-show reserve duty. Yet, no one questioned their abilities to be Commander In Chief. Both Clinton and Bush demonstrated an inability or unwillingness to separate right action from their own personal or political interests. Clinton chose to intervene to halt genocide in Bosnia but not Rwanda. Bush, after the “weapons of mass destruction” lie fell apart, said we were getting rid of an evil dictator (that we armed by the way) who supports terrorism. He didn’t have a problem however, with the terrorism in Darfur, even after his own then Secretary of State Colin Powell called it genocide.
It’s amazing how we teach children from an early age to treat others with respect, to be kind and fair, to exercise self-control, and to suppress the impulse to seek revenge but do just the opposite as so called adults. It’s true that aggressors should be handled in a strong manner. We mustn’t forget however, that others feel the same way about us when we’re the aggressors. It’s a little insane to get bent out of shape about the thought of other nations building atomic weapons when we (along with our allies) have enough of them to destroy the planet many times over. I guess America doesn’t believe that “what’s good for the goose is good for the gander”.
The Commander in Chief must be the consummate adult. When we look at the two prospective Commanders in Chief, we must look at the decisions they’ve made, personal and public. Have they been thoughtful or impulsive? Have they demonstrated moral discipline and good family values? Have they leaned toward personal self-interest or toward the interest of “the least of these?” The one we choose will be given awesome power, which can be used for good or evil. It’s on us this time folks. Let’s see what we do.
For information about the mission of Seedpod Empowerment Institute, call Mr. Gaynor at 769-798-5247 or E-Mail us: alimgaynor@yahoo.com
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