An Era-Shifting Speech in Education (IV)

PART 5: The Goal of Freedom Focused

At Freedom Focused, we have two overarching goals. First, EDUCATION in true principles; and Second, proactive APPLICATION of that Education.

You and I & everyone are who we are and have what we have today in large part because of our education in true principles—or lack thereof.

Good Education—and its application—is the quintessential solution to all of our preventable problems in the United States and Beyond. It is education in, and application of, true principles that leads to peace, prosperity, personal success, and professional advancement.

The Vision of Freedom Focused & the Mission of the Self-Action Leadership theory & model is to proliferate education in true principles to everyone everywhere in an effort to restore American unity and greatness in preparation to lead the rest of the world to likewise achieve their limitless potential.

PART 6: Fire, Ice, & Unity

I would like to share with you one of my favorite poems…

Fire & Ice 

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.

When you consider that the legendary poet penned these immortal words but a few years after the close of World War I—not to mention the deadliest flu pandemic the world had ever known—is it any wonder that he—and others of his generation—were pondering on the sobering subject presented in this poem?

Today we stand nearly a century separated from the national and global calamities faced by Frost and his contemporaries, which conspired then to create a dour sense of dismay and even dread for the future—and understandably so. If only the War to End all Wars had lived up to its name.

If only! 

Isn’t it amazing how the more things change, the more things stay the same?! While we may not fear German artillery shells or Turkish machine-gun fire, is a terrorist intent on destroying your home and family, any less frightening?

If we, as a nation, seek to defend ourselves and protect our futures from those who, if given the slightest opportunity, would annihilate us with pleasure, the time has come for us to “stop fighting amongst ourselves” and unite in a collective embrace of the true principles and virtues that have liberated, protected, and made us a Great Nation for nearly 230 years. Moreover, we must “face that the price for it may be dear.” [1]

UNITY – unity is the only ultimate protection against those who seek our destruction, either from without or within. Yet in recent years and decades it seems as though UNITY is the most elusive virtue of all in this, the so-called UNITED States of America. Indeed, not since the Civil War has our nation been so deeply divided along ideological, partisan lines as it is today.

In 2009, our Nation voted in a new Commander-in-Chief who was elected on the stirring rhetoric of unity, and I quote:

“There’s not a liberal America and a conservative America; there’s the United States of America. There’s not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there’s the United States of America. … We are one people, all pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America.” [2]

I cherish these words of Mr. Obama because I share this vision of unity. With all my heart, I want to believe such unity is yet possible despite the deep divisions that currently beset our desperately fractured country.

It is in this elusive spirit of UNITY that I make this address today.

I believe it is possible to regain the kind of national unity our country enjoyed throughout the World War II period, wherein our ancestors banded together on the right side of history’s most epic struggle between good and evil.

If such a slippery status of unity is possible, what must unify us? There is only one thing, and as Presidents George Bush and Barack Obama have painfully learned the past fourteen years, that one thing is not rhetoric nor partisan politicking.

The only thing that can possibly unite us once again in this great land of promise is a collective embrace of true principles – not partisan principles – but the simple truisms of self-reliance & self-government upon which our nation was founded.

I appeal to ALL Americans to put an end to the petty bickering, self-interested chicanery, and ideological extremism from all sides that got us into this mess in the first place.

I call upon every citizen throughout this not-so-united States of America to once again reclaim our nation’s cherished birthright and nomenclature: The United States of America.

Let us all take time to sincerely evaluate the role we must individually play to reinvigorate the collective unity and greatness of which the USA is yet capable.

PART 7: The Root of the Problem

As we all well know, Washington D.C. is a mess, and has been for many years. However, contrary to popular belief, the root of our nation’s troubles do not originate in our Nation’s Capitol, or in any other house of government; they lie in our own houses, and more specifically, in our own minds and hearts. While our political system is presently polluted in many ways, such issues are NOT the roots of our greatest troubles; they are the branches and leaves.

In the words of Thoreau, “There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is hacking at the root.” [3]

Freedom Focused was founded, and the Self-Action Leadership theory & model were expressly established to hack at the roots of evil.

Our biggest problems do not originate with our elected officials; they begin with the voters who elect them—and those who fail to show up to the polls in the first place. “I’m sorry to say so, but sadly, it’s true,” [4] the root of our problems lie with ME—and with YOU. 

The opening lines of the Constitution do not read, I the President. They read, We the People. And if We the People are ever to form the more perfect union envisioned by our founders, it is time to stop pointing fingers at everyone and everything except where the essence of the blame most often lies—within ourselves.

If we want different leaders, we must make our voice heard at the ballot box; but it goes much, much deeper than that. You see, the brilliance of our American political system is that the people themselves are allowed to choose their leaders. And what kind of leaders do We the People—speaking collectively and not individually—ultimately elect? The answer is: those who most closely mirror ourselves and our own belief systems, ideologies, and moral compasses. In other words, we really elect ourselves to office.

Therefore, if you like who is in office, it is probably mainly because those in office are pretty much like you are, and if you don’t like who is in office, the most productive possible response is not to go and whine about it on social media, but to go to the mirror and take a closer look at who you really are, and what you are actually going to do about it.

You see it is so much easier to point the finger of blame at those in official positions of power—and make no mistake—the power they wield is formidable, and elected leaders often make decisions rooted in arrogance, ignorance, and selfishness.

Nevertheless, until we stop blaming others and start changing the only thing we are capable of changing in the entire world—namely, our own thoughts, speech, actions, and attitudes—we will never make the kind of progress of which we are capable, and as the years go by we will find ourselves in even greater danger than we presently face.

It would be easy for me to stand here and bash President Obama, or President Bush, or President Clinton, or others in elected office. Pundits, politicians, and pop cultural icons have been incessantly pointing the finger of blame for years now, and where has it gotten us? We are more divided than ever, and our problems have only worsened amidst all the hullaballooing.

Because politicians are the branches and leaves—not the roots—of the problems we face, the only way to change our nation—and our political landscape—is to change ourselves.

Changing oneself does not begin in a beneficial business venture, a charitable undertaking, or a political election. It begins inside your own mind, heart, and spirit. It begins with an education in truth and an evaluation of your own motives through the honest consultation of conscience.

Then—and only then—can your positive influence begin to impact family members, friends, and your neighborhood, school, organization, community, city, county, state, nation, and world. It all starts with the ONE—with you and with me. In the words of President Theodore Roosevelt,

“[A person’s] foremost duty is owed to himself and his family … it is only after this has been done that he can help … the general well-being. He must pull his own weight first, and only after this can his surplus strength be of use to the general public. … The quality of the individual citizen is [therefore] supreme. … Character must show itself in [a person’s] performance both of the duty he owes himself and of the duty he owes the state.” [5]

Self-Action Leadership is laser focused on empowering individuals to fulfill the duty they owe to themselves first, and then to their families, neighborhoods, schools, places of work, communities, cities, counties, states, nations, and the world-at-large—and in that specific order.

A woman or man whose own life and home are not in order has no business telling other organizations, much-less nations and states how they ought to be conducting theirs. It is high time that we as Americans—and citizens of the world everywhere—turn our attention within.

I wish to make clear that I am not a politician, nor do I have any ambition or intention of ever becoming one. The color scheme of my apparel and the pin of my nation’s flag I bear proudly this day are merely tokens of the deep patriotism and love I feel for my Country—the Greatest Nation in the history of the world—even the United States of America.

Because I am not a politician, and since I make a habit of not speaking professionally on topics of which I am not an expert, I am not here to present political solutions to our nation’s current political and cultural malaise; I will leave that to professional politicians, and I believe there are some among the rising generation who will be up to the task.

If I am not an aspiring politician, then what am I? I am an educator. I am also a philosopher, poet, amateur historian, husband, father, and self-action leader. It is, therefore, into the microphone of education, philosophy, poetry, history, family, and Self-Action Leadership that I speak today.

It is through these lenses that I have produced the Self-Action Leadership theory & model over a period of a decade of diligent study and action research, ambitious—and often painful—experience, and careful (even obsessive) consultations with my own conscience. It is through these lenses that I invite you to peer through in order to better understand the only, real solution to the problems we face in the USA and throughout the World.

The message I share today is a message of REAL hope and AUTHENTIC change—not a pseudo change that originates in Washington or London or Brussels or Baghdad (real change never begins in cities or organizations) and not a false hope promised by charismatic ideologues supported by special interest groups—but a real hope & an authentic change that must be cultivated in the minds and hearts of individual men and women, boys and girls, throughout this blessed land of Promise if the USA is to remain THE GREATEST NATION ON EARTH.

The deepest problems we face today originated in homes, classrooms, and individuals minds long before they began polluting organizations, houses of government, and the culture-at-large. Ironically, these problems were exacerbated not long after the United States led the world in the most climactic triumph over tyranny and evil the Planet had ever seen; namely, the Allied victory over the Axis powers of fascist Germany and Italy, and Imperial Japan in World War II. As the old adage says: “Nothing fails like success.” 

The decades following World War II were eventually given a name: Postmodernism. This cultural phenomenon was not all bad, especially in regards to its achievements in urban planning and architecture, which can be admired the world over. More imporantly, the era of postmodernism was marked by periods of unprecedented technological advancement and much needed social changes—especially with regards to civil rights. Nevertheless, the deep and indelible mark it left on the philosophical and cultural pulse of our Nation and World has been, in a word, disastrous.

Postmodern philosophy originates in the literature of the scholarly intelligentsia. Its doctrine essentially posits that there is no absolute truth, and that all so-called “truth” is, on one level or another, merely a construct of language and therefore relative to its constructor.

Ironically, postmodern philosophy flourished best in the very institutions that had traditionally been dedicated to truth’s acquisition and identification—colleges & universities. Thus it is that we see the Latin inscription, “Veritas” hypocritically emblazoned on the collegiate crests of prestigious campuses throughout the nation and world.

The philosophy of postmodernism is understandably popular with many; after all, it is much more convenient to construct one’s own truth & conscience than it is to humbly acknowledge and then dutifully attend to the edicts of an actual truth & conscience that exists outside of the whims or wishes of the natural man.

It is certainly more comfortable in the moment to claim that “anything goes” or “if it feels right, do it,” than it is to say: “I have a social and existential responsibility to do what is right—not only for my own sake, but for the sake of all those impacted by my speech and actions.”

Instead of bowing before Universal Law in the attitude of Socrates or Kant, or bowing before a Deity in the attitude of Jesus and many of our Founding Fathers, postmodernists often seek to become a law unto themselves whereby they mistakenly assume powers that are not theirs to command.

A public address of this nature is no place to academically flesh out the many nuances of postmodernism. Suffice it to say, postmodern philosophy is complicit in exacerbating virtually all of our deepest—yet preventable—problems. It is the seminal author of our Nation’s present slump, and if left to flourish indefinitely, will be the finisher of American Exceptionalism and the end of whatever vestige of world peace we enjoy today.

What is the solution to Postmodernism? There is but one answer, and it is nothing short of the advent of an entirely new age: The AGE of AUTHENTICISM.

My next post will explicate this new AGE of AUTHENTICISM. Tune in later tonight or early tomorrow morning...

Click HERE to access Part 5 of An Era-Shifting Speech on Education

Notes:

[1] Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. (1991). Directed by Kevin Reynolds.  Written by Pen Densham & John Watson. 

[2] From Senator Barack Obama’s speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, MA on July 27, 2004. 

[3] From Walden: or Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau, Chapter 1, Economy, sixth paragraph from the end.

[4] Seuss, D. (Geisel, T.) (1990). Oh, the Places You’ll Go!  New York, NY: Random House. No Page Number. 

[5] From Roosevelt’s speech, Citizens in a Republic, delivered at the Sorbonne in Paris, France on April 23, 1910.