No One Asked Me But… (November 16, 2022)

By DR. LARRY MOSES

No one asked me but… P. J. O’Rourke stated: “The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer, and remove the crabgrass on your lawn. The Republicans are the party that says government doesn’t work and then they get elected and prove it.”

Being amongst the 500,000 or so Nevadans who are non-partisan, I like to think I function on common-sense rather than party identification.

The elections in Nevada last week seemed to point out something else about the two parties. The Democrats know how to campaign while the Republicans don’t have a clue. As of today, as the powers that be finish counting the “magic” mail in ballots, Nevada will be Democrat dominated again.

I am not one to suggest that there is a conspiracy here, for I am not “election denier”, whatever that may be. However, it would be better if those ballots were required to be in the hands of the ballot counters on election day rather than by the Saturday after the election. This delay brings doubt in the minds of many people, especially as they see the candidates of one party leading in each office only to lose ground and maybe the election three days after election day.

It would be best if those ballots were in and counted along with the rest of the ballots to give those would be “election deniers” no grounds for doubt. As I write this column, the count of mail-in ballots will continue and not be completed for three days, or until all the Democratic candidates are elected, whichever comes first.

As you read this I may be proven wrong, but the “Red Wave” that was predicted by many political pundits appears to be more of a dripping faucet across the nation. In the State of Nevada the Democrat plumbers pretty much even cut the drip off.

The Democrats were apparently successful in convincing the Nevada voters that there was no inflation, gas prices are not out of control, the borders are closed, and their lawns will be free of crabgrass.
Theodore Roosevelt said: “Complaining about a problem without posing a solution is called whining.”

Here’s a solution: The creation of a new party made up of people with common-sense, rather than political savvy. Let us unite the best leaders of both parties as well as non-partisans leaders and get back to following the Constitution instead of Presidential decrees. Let us forgo party loyalty for the loyalty to the American people who make up this nation.

No one asked me… Leadership is an interesting topic, especially during election season. We are inundated with political advertisements that either supports or attacks the leadership qualities of the candidates for leadership positions. If the only information one had on the candidates was what they saw on television, one would have to assume that when they went to the polls last Tuesday they had to choose which criminal they would vote for.

This brought me to thinking about leadership and what it really means. I learned what leadership skill I might have had to display as a school administrator from the United States Marine Corps.

I remember well when I was the NCO in charge of a project and I made a decision that resulted in less than a stellar result. I was called before the Sergeant Major to explain.

I began by stating that our directions from above were not clear. The old Marine with thirty years of leadership experience, stated: “Son, the answer is ‘No excuse, it will not happen again.’”

I then began to explain that a couple of my Marines did not do exactly as I directed. The Sgt. Major again stated, “The answer Marine, is ‘No excuse, it will not happen again.’”

I then explained that weather conditions were not good. I heard again: “The answer is ‘No excuse, it will not happen again.’”
The Sgt. Major asked again? My answer was: “No excuse and it will not happen again.”
The Sgt. Major replied: “Good answer, make sure it doesn’t.”

We need leaders who rather than make excuses, solve problems.
They don’t blame Putin for high gas prices, they would make it possible to drill for oil in America making lower fuel costs and energy independence for the American people.

They don’t deny border problems. They would take action to close the borders to illegal immigration.

There is a charter school principal who runs an inner-city school in East St. Louis where he takes learning-resistant students who others have written off and his staff graduates 100% of them. The graduates are successful in institution of higher learning and in the world in general. His school slogan is one I have stolen: “No excuses, whatever it takes”. This would be a great slogan for all of the leaders in America from County Advisory Boards up to the President of the United States.

It is time for those who seek a leadership position to forget what is in the position for themselves and concentrate on the service they can render to the American people. It is time to forget party politics and concentrate what is best for the country.

Here is something ex-President Trump might want to understand as he contemplates another run for the presidency. Jim Rohn said, “The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly.”

General Douglas MacArther addressed the issue of leadership as follows: “A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent.”

This is good advice for anyone who would be a leader.

While most of us will not be in great leadership positions, we can take solace in the fact that most good work is done in defiance of management.

Thomas Edison said it best when a young man he had hired to do a job asked him what the company rules were for him to operate under. Edison replied, “Rules? Rules! There ain’t no rules here. We are trying to accomplish something.”
Whatever it takes, no excuses.

Thought of the week…It is important to know when to stop arguing with people and simply let them be wrong.