Now, as America enters the 21^st century, media outlets constantly report on corruption involving politicians, corporate scandals and violent acts unheard of just decades ago. There are discouraging figures reported by the government itself that reveal tremendous gaps in income disparity. “The working poor” is a common ailment in our society and people talk about “taking back our country.” Take it back from whom? Why should there ever be a need to take it back from those elected officials whose duty it is to protect us? Comments are often heard that “Justice is for sale,” and everyone knows that about 47,000,000 people do not have medical insurance and many of those Americans have had to declare bankruptcy due to an inability to pay medical bills.

Ruthless forms of management, drug abuse and gang warfare, schools in disarray, homeless people and families living in poverty lend credence to John Calhoun’s message that people in “offices of public trust” have created a dysfunctional culture. The Constitution, to many Americans, has become oblivious to leaders and these leaders are no longer trusted.

In Search of a Better America: WAKE-UP CALLS for America’s Leaders focuses on how America has had many wake-up calls warning it citizens and leaders how they could be deprived of enjoying the so called American dream. That dream is surely recognizable in the carefully worded Constitution of the United States.

Today, there is a crying need for effective, compassionate leadership on the local level, the neighborhood, the city, the county, state and nation. The book is a mass of material that clearly shows how government and business leaders have gone wrong in “securing the blessings of liberty” and in “promoting the general welfare” and in attempting to “form the more perfect union.”

Readers will be taken aback as they encounter little publicized research that applies to education, management, leadership, motivation and human development. Shocking stories of injustices, abuses of power and the rules of law and how the media fosters poor teaching and child development and allows editorial opinions to circumvent facts.

A full arsenal of support for concepts mentioned in the book come from visionary political leaders, journalists, judges, philosophers, leaders in law and in sports and the armed forces as well as business executives, educators, psychologists and medical doctors and common citizens. A large part of the book focuses itself on how American leadership has neglected research in human development and how this neglect has led to the multitude of problems the society now finds itself buried in.

Wake-up calls of yesteryear told leaders that if we are to survive as a nation we must cultivate the science of human relationships. To that end, a developing country must keep a balanced playing field for all citizens if it is to proclaim itself a democracy. It must advance social justices, protect citizens from abuses of power and provide equal protection under the law. One journalist mentioned in the book wrote about how the above protections are no longer available to many Americans and stated, “Everyone deplores the lack of leadership in America today.”

The tragic demise of American leadership could have been prevented if sound wake-up calls had been given more attention. Here is just a small sampling of those wake-up calls that apply to different chapters in the book that take a look at problems festering in our society.

It was James Madison who said, “The public good…the real welfare of the great body of people…is the supreme object to be pursued.” Today, the great body of people would be those 47,000,000 citizens without medical insurance, the working poor and the millions wallowing in poverty and having to hold up signs that say, “Will Work For Food.”

Presidential candidate, Hubert H. Humphrey wrote: “It was once said that the moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life…the sick, the needy and the handicapped.”

Adding his vision to wake-up calls, president Franklin D. Roosevelt stated, “That government which thinks in terms of humanity will continue.” He also added, “A democracy, the right kind of democracy, is bound by the ties of neighborliness.”

Eric Hoffer is given credit with this wake-up call: “No matter how noble the objectives of a government, if it blurs decency and kindness, cheapens human life, and breeds ill will and suspicion…it is an evil government.” Who among us would disagree that recent shenanigans in Washington haven’t blurred decency and kindness and did its best to “breed ill will and suspicion”?

Perhaps the most eloquent and informative wake-up call in the book originated from the thinking of United States Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis. Years ago he said, “We can have democracy in this country or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both.” Evidently judge Brandeis also noted the development of income disparity that is ripping apart America and a malady that leads to many social ills.

The 40,000 word book concludes with little difficulty proving that compassion, neighborliness, honesty and integrity are sadly lacking in American leadership today. Few Americans would disagree that corruption in government and business is at its zenith. It is costing us in attempts to sell democracy around the world. America is no longer the ambassador of good will as it forsakes it for too many people on its own shores. Former well-known correspondent, Edward R. Murrow offered a terrific wake-up call over a half century ago and it is too bad that his words have been buried in the same grave as the words in the Constitution. He stated with what seems to be great vision: “We cannot defend freedom abroad while deserting it at home.”

In Search of a Better America: WAKE-UP CALLS for America’s Leaders uses quotes, phrases, facts, figures and human interest stories and leading authorities to support the undeniable fact that American citizens are pleading for inspirational leadership. The entries are all valuable suggestions as to what leaders in America need to do to restore respectability, integrity, honesty and compassion to themselves. Once implemented these important ingredients of leadership and human development can help America heal itself and regain its reputation as a world leader in providing needs to people.

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