LEADERS LEADERS?

     I do not know which is the chicken and which the egg, nor what came first, but what I do know is that somewhere along the line society has gone far off the tracks. Is it the fault of society that our leaders are so wrong, so lacking, our fault that we allowed them to become leaders, or is it the fault of the leaders that our society has grown so wanting and so lacking? Or more probably, is it a combined force of the two that leaves us where we are and in any case, how the hell do we get out of this mess - is it even possible?
     Every month we listen at the DA to the candidates who come to talk and gain our votes. Who is being honest? Who is a liar? Who is power hungry and sees this election as a rung on the advancement and power structure? Hard to tell. We know there are honest and helpful politicians and public servants but every time one gets to feeling a bit safe with our leaders, then BOOM! along comes another scandal.
     That scandalous atmosphere and those deeds extend even unto the "civilian" portion of society. We are not yet done with the whole Panama scandal of those who hid their funds in offshore accounts and no, it wasn't the little guys who did this, but those supposed leaders who maintained their outer faces and hid their inner tainted souls and greedy hands.
     Now we have the most important political race in the world and what have we? Sad news. Internationally we have seen a deterioration in the nations of the world. The continents have submerged themselves in illegal elections, demagoguery,  vicious fighting and have set the stage for years to come.  Is this what we are to look forward to? Violence, havoc, authoritarianism, leaders who are up to their shoulders in greed and chicanery? Are we going to ignore the nascent leaders like the 19 year old from Hong Kong and others like him? On the other hand are we going to allow the cowardly people who use social media to bully and bluster, to send nasty anti Semitic statements, ugly and vicious, to a young 25 year old woman running for office? The choice is ours and we can show that choice in whom we choose this primary season and in November.
     I am probably one of the most disappointed people, so deeply disappointed in the president that Obama turned out to be. His few high moments such as the capture of Bin Laden cannot and do not outweigh his serious lackings and his turning on his allies, including his rather personal hatred or antipathy towards Israel. He would not be the first president who did not like Israel or the Jewish people, but these people saw their way clearly when an ally was in trouble. Who? Try Nixon as an example.  In any case, his speech here at Century turned out to be filled with lies and we have suffered the consequences of his election lo these many a year.
     But worse than Obama is the spectre of Trump as President. Ugh! Worse than that. It is actually dangerous for us, for society, for the world. The havoc this man can wreak upon the world is beyond description. This man is a rolling wrecking ball, a man who will violate the Constitution of the United States as he rants and raves and promises and threatens that as President he will do whatever he wants. The statement that the Constitution will not let him do that is useless, for he will ignore all that and become our first dictator of the USA.  Think I am alone in this, in this thinking? Then read the op-eds and the editorials of the papers round the world. Yes. Round the world. This choice is not a choice. It is not a protest against what we have now. It is a choice of a dictator over another candidate who more clearly represents the USA as it should be. Is she perfect? No, but then again, who is and surely her lackings are nothing compared to what Trump seems to be holding forth and certainly better than the recent ravings and violence coming from the Sanders camp. Give credit where credit is due and respect a woman who has held firm throughout a not so easy life filled with many obstacles. When we admire the "good wife" on TV, perhaps we ought to look at the reality of a "good wife" in life. Just a thought.
     And locally, right here within our gates we have another issue. The "leader" here within the Village is faulty beyond redemption. He has become so paranoid, so entrenched in his own authority, so used to thinking of himself as a legend - all in his own mind, rather than in his time, that he has gone beyond the Pale. On his blog a vicious attack was carried out all yesterday and the day before, all arising from a simple statement from Bettie Bleckman that there was truly no need for the behavior surrounding the Memorial Day event in the Clubhouse as it was neither political nor aimed at any other purpose other than celebrating our vets and having a good time. The fact that David made it so as he refused our own Channel 63 to publicize it or to allow any posters about it - even in the Medical Building! - think about that that! - that all rests on his shoulders, that whole politicizing of the event - and all one sided. In any case, he and his proxy, Peter Cruise, continued an all day attack on Bettie with David even writing that the whole thing was kabuki - thus adding insult to injury as he demeaned and denigrated a respected ethnic theater of the Japanese. David, your prejudice and hateful thoughts are hanging out all over the place! In any case, his entry or comment was nasty and untruthful to say the least. I answered it with a comment and then of course the lackey of his responded with another lie, always the lie and David REMOVED his posting leaving mine looking as if I responded to nothing. But, dear boy, - I have both saved since I knew you better than to trust you! 
     In any case, our present "leader" is faulty to the extreme. He is a man who follows the path of Trump, that follows the path of all men who wish to abort civil rights, to crush the opposition no matter how many rules of society are trampled upon, are violated. This is our leader? G-d help us all. I wonder if he  admires the same people as Trump - Putin and the nutjob, that dangerous sociopath from North Korea?
     In any case, people, please, before our country and our Village are led further down the road to perdition - wake up!!! Smell the coffee. Observe the beauty of the rose. Do anything that will make you think. And for those of you who blindly follow David as your guru - think back. Go into a quiet room and think. Is the Village free as it used to be? Do all have access to all outlets here in the Village, the outlets that ALL pay for or is that gone? Is that what you want to keep? If so, I am sorry for you, for you have admitted to yourselves that the American values are dead within you, that you believe only those who think like you - perhaps look like you - should have any rights. Look deep into your souls. You do not have to put on a public act and boo and call out. You are alone in your thinking room. Be honest, cruelly honest, with yourself.     
    
     The recently deceased author Michael Palmer had these two sentences pasted on his computer. "This is hard. Be fearless."   Perhaps we need to adopt that as our motto and our encouragement.