Before we get too deep into today's post, I would like to begin with the following disclaimer:I am not perfect and am deeply flawed as a human being in every aspect of my life.
Now that I have made this pronouncement, I have full license to go on a bit of a rant about public leaders. People who should be aware that what they say and what they do matters. As a group, they need to live and carry themselves with integrity and forthrightness at all times. They need to continually strive to be caring, respectful, and aware of the people that they serve, direct, or represent.
Now I am not crass enough to embark on a public shaming. There will be no actual names listed here. Although some of you may be able to figure out who I am talking about, that is not really the point. The point is really to wag our fingers and shake our heads, because we would do a better job in their place, wouldn't we?
- A well-known pastor goes to a busy public pool with his children. His young son comes to him as he needs to go to the bathroom. The pastor does not want to be bothered getting up, so he tells his son to just go pee in the pool and to leave him alone.
- The chief executive and public face of an oil company responsible for a catastrophic and unprecedented oil spill grows tired of the media and government pressure in the aftermath of the incident and mewls that he just wants his life back. Meanwhile, there are people who have died in the event and many local economies have been devastated for years to come.
- A pastor of a big church thinks he is being humorous and tweets just after a hurricane has passed through his area that the storm was no big thing and people should stopping whining. However, the death toll tops 40 and there is more than a billion dollars in damage along the storm's path.
- A queen who lives in over-the-top luxury and decadence hears that her people are starving to death and have no bread to eat. Her reply is that if they have no bread, then they should eat cake.
