(If you’re interested in the clips that spurred these thougths for me you can find them with the link:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/11/jon-stewart-vs-town-hall_n_256272.html )

I don’t understand what makes our society fear change so much?  What is so bad about moving forward in our way of living?  What is so wrong with accepting that there is a new administration and although you may not agree with everything they come up with, it doesn’t mean that everything they come up with is automatically wrong simply because there are one or two things that you do not agree with.  I don’t know why people feel that they cannot be wrong, is it really that hard to admit when you realize that someone has evidence to prove you wrong?  I don’t understand why we have made that a bad thing in our society.  I would think that we would try to get people to grow from experiences like that, instead of making them feel that they need to fight for their honor, or something like that; that is how people end up making stupid arguments that only they think sound logical, and other people who wont give up the same misconceptions.

Words can do the same thing to the masses.  Words are what make people fear, argue, agree, or ignore.  The way words are spoken, the connotations of the words used, the jargon that is given out freely by the media.  Words can also inspire an entire group, generation, or nation.   Look at the influence of all of the different ways words are delivered, from the nightly news to the newest song played on the radio.  The words that we surround ourselves with have a big influence on who we are.  Having the right words at the right time can be amazingly powerful, you can change someone’s day, or outlook on life, or start a revolution by influencing the masses and convincing them that it’s time for change.  Change comes through words.  This philosophy is demonstrated and and pondered in the book that I’m currently reading, Ender’s Game.  Like 1984 and The Giver, the book uses some sci-fi type qualities to make some very real, current, and relevant points to our world today.  Think about how long books and poems stay alive in circulations, in libraries, in homes, in classrooms, etc….continuously being interpreted and influencing people.  Or at least some books are treated with that reverence….some are never even published.  It’s all about having the right words for the right group at the right time.  Some people have a gift for writing that reaches many people over centuries, generation after generation, the words are valued.  But this gift is rare….

Think about how revolutions throughout history have began…with words.  There is always someone from an intelligent and more experienced group that rallies the masses with WORDS.  Pamphlets, speeches, songs, whatever it takes to spread a common message and influences the masses that are needed to really make a difference.  If the numbers aren’t there than the intelligence is just going to stay an idea in one person’s mind and maybe be discussed on a rare night when nothing else is happening….but it never goes beyond the circle and into the masses if it’s not delivered at the right time. 

Word choice is extremely important if you want to use your words to control, then they need to be considered with all of the connotations(associations) as well as the denotations(definition) that come along with words.  The media has a lot of control over the masses because of their word choice.  The media has the power to scare or reassure with pretty much any story that they put on television or run in the paper.  Either way, word choice is key. 

The internet makes the spread of words amazingly fast…we have advanced now to the spread of video.  In a matter of minutes an entire school with have a video clip that someone took on their cell phone of some unfortunate or fortunate student or teacher…..Think about how many people from different backgrounds, cultures, and countries read the same passages on the Internet….even this blog is read across the world…which is amazing, at least to me. 

Words are very powerful things, they can be used to inspire or knock down….the thing about words, especially the written word, once it’s out there, it’s almost impossible, if not completely impossible to ever get them out of circulation, out of people’s minds, especially with the wonderful world wide web.

It doesn’t seem to matter if it’s a good thing or a bad thing in reality, the media is going to spin what they put in front of the nation into whatever story is going to sell.  If they feel a good human interest story is the best bet, then they will go for it, but generally speaking they go for the scandal aspect.  The latest with the scandals is that President Obama took his wife for a romantic evening in New York City.  Personally I think this is awesome, but the media is slamming him.  What is worse is reading some of the comments to the articles…some people are thinking for themselves, others are simply repeating exactly what they saw in the article.  Unfortunately, this is what our society has come to, being brainwashed by the media.  The majority of people in this country will believe whatever they hear, as long as they hear it on the news. 

I think it would have been interesting to see what people would be saying about the night out if the media would have taken the nice human interest approach, rather than the slaughtering approach.  And by the way, I think the President is doing a pretty amazing job if the worse thing the media can find to report on is that he took his wife out for a romantic date and is doing a great job keeping up with his relationship and his new job as President. 

I wonder what those people would be saying if the media would have promoted the good aspects of the situation….and I also wonder if this would be happening with a different president.  It seems to me like the President has always done family focused things and have always been applauded for their efforts.  Would the whole nation be supportive of the date nights if the media twisted the story into a positive light??  Will we ever be able to teach our general majority to think for themselves again or will we always be dependent on the media to feed the opinions of the masses.

I think that a real leader needs to be able to do more than manage things, a real leader needs to be able to delegate, earn the trust of their followers/workers, and most importantly be above all of the normal work drama.  If a leader gets sucked into the drama of the workers, they have failed.  If they can be easily persuaded without any evidence or logic in a situation then you know they will fail.  In order to be an effective leader you need to be able to put your personal feelings aside and work with everyone to be successful at the task at hand, no matter what that task is.  Talking in circles is something to leave to the politicians wanting publicity, a real leader isn’t afraid to state plainly what they believe is right.  A real leader will stand up for those that work with them.  A real leader will directly address a problem and acknowledge that they are working with adults who can and will make their own decisions, and can hold their own.  If someone isn’t doing their part to make things work, then the leader should get rid of them.  A leader needs to do what is best for the whole group, company, etc.  Not what is best for them.  The leader looks out for all of those that need to trust them to make everything run smoothly. 

If the person in charge doesn’t have the trust of those that work under them then they are not a leader, they simply have a title that looks better on a resume.  Trust and support is what I believe the innerworkings of all jobs, offices, work places need to be based on in order for everyone to work  together to make the business successful. 

If you can’t trust your “leader”, then it’s time to stop following them up.  It’s our job to make improvements to what we know isn’t right.  It’s important that we do not blindly follow people simply because they have a leadership title.  There is more to being a leader than holding the title.