As we prepare for this week’s SOLUTION family meeting on Sunday, September 14th, at 3:00 PM, where we will reflect on leadership and courage in our communities, I feel compelled to share commentary on the state of our leadership, politics, and social environment.
Leadership is not only about holding titles or positions; it is about inspiring, motivating, and mobilizing people toward a brighter horizon. Each of us has a duty to use our words and platforms to advance ideas that uplift not just those with abundance but also those in forgotten corners of the world. Every individual—whether shaping global policy or striving for dignity in daily life—deserves happiness, justice, and opportunity, not only for themselves but for generations to come.
In fulfilling that duty, we must recognize how interconnected our world has become. In a globalized world, the ripple of our words extends farther than we can see. A sentence spoken in Cleveland may stir the imagination of a child in Paris, while a speech in Brussels may echo in classrooms in Atlanta or Nairobi. Voices travel now like wind across oceans—lifting, carrying, igniting. A movement is no longer confined to a block or a borough; it is woven into the fabric of the world. That is immense power, and it demands immense responsibility.
Yet with this expanded reach comes a greater risk: the danger when rhetoric divides instead of builds. Disagreement is natural, even healthy. Our country was founded on debate and compromise. But when debates harden into violence or contempt, we betray the very freedom that allows us to speak. The question is not whether we can argue—it is whether we can argue with purpose. We must ask ourselves: are we arguing to serve the common good, or merely to prove ourselves right?
The Iroquois Confederacy’s Seven Generation Principle offers us a standard: every decision should be judged by its impact seven generations into the future. The Confederacy itself—an alliance of the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and later the Tuscarora nations—was one of the earliest models of participatory governance in North America, balancing unity with respect for each nation’s voice. If we applied that measure to our politics, our economy, and our communities today, would we be proud of what we are leaving behind?
If we are honest, the path we are on leads nowhere good. We must change course. That means embracing compromise, practicing pluralism, and remembering that our work is not for ourselves but for those who come after us. That also means rejecting the pull of extremism on either side of the argument, for it blinds us to the common good. Leadership requires expanding our understanding of reality to include the perspectives of others, making space for them, and practicing tolerance even when it is uncomfortable.
As I close, I urge us to look honestly at the bridges we are—or are not—building in our schools, our hospitals, our courtrooms, and our neighborhoods. Power does not live only in parliaments or palaces; it lives in the hands of people who choose to act with courage and clarity. Let us wield that power not in anger but in vision. Let us argue fiercely, yet with purpose. Let us shape policies and practices that will outlast us, that will stand as a testament not just for seven generations, but for seventy-seven. For the measure of our leadership will not be found in titles or victories, but in the future we leave behind.
“If we wish to inspire the peoples of the world whose freedom is in jeopardy, we must correct the remaining imperfections in our practice of democracy.” — Harry Truman
Disclaimer: This piece was written by me, but is hosted on a website that I do not own or manage