The Road to Service Nation
Our Presidential Choice: The Decision We Face
On August 01, 2007, the I-35-West Bridge across the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, MN collapsed during the evening rush hour. More than the loss of life sustained in the disaster and its immediate and long-term economic impacts, the I-35 Bridge collapse can be seen as a metaphor for the unique challenges that the next President of the United States will face once he takes office.
America’s infrastructure, both the concrete bricks and motor which allow for interstate commerce and the invisible bridges which connect people from across generations, backgrounds, home countries, languages, and heritages, is in need of repair. The United States is an increasingly polarized nation that divides itself along political, racial, ethnic, or economic lines on almost every issue which comes before it. In the summer before the 2008 presidential election year, the nation suffered several physical infrastructure problems. From an underground steam explosion below the streets of New York City to the bridge collapse in Minnesota to continual delays at the nation’s airports, it became clear that repairing the inner core of the nation was becoming a priority. Just recently, the threats of Hurricane Gustav on New Orleans show the vulnerabilities that remain in that city and along the Gulf Coast. On both levels, the next president will have to be a leader that can fix and unite a fractured country. The leadership skills required for this generational task are uncharacteristic and unique but they are necessary and increasingly imperative.
The results of the 2004 presidential election showed polarization across the United States, with voters conforming to the standardization of red and blue states. Since that time, a deteriorating situation in Iraq, an economy in recession and a debate over the emotional issue of illegal immigration has further contributed to the division by political party orthodoxy. But the last four years have shown that division is unproductive. This realization has occurred just as the real problems facing the country gather a sense of urgency. The country has a deep desire to elect a leader who will be able to transcend political division and commit to working with members of Congress, and citizens from around the country, with an earnest ambition to solve the complex problems the country faces and bring substantive solutions.
It is then with no surprise that research in modern American political elections show that it are not registered Republicans or Democrats that determine the winner of the presidential election, instead it is the Independent. The middle ground is built out of compromise and coalition-building and it is where both political parties seek to attract supporters from. In order to fix the infrastructural problems facing the United States, its next leader must be able to face the challenge of division by governing from the political center.
There comes a point in the cyclical nature of democracy when the country’s citizens examine the course their nation is on and determine that it is time to make changes. It comes when the definition of what it means to be a citizen is shrouded in individual identifications rather than national associations. It comes when the evidence of this internal deterioration is visible at the surface. This time is called a crossroads. In 2008, the United States faces a pivotal crossroads as unique challenges requiring potent leadership confront candidates for the office of President of the United States. How the leader faces these challenges will be the story of tomorrow; in a time when crises build and occur without warning, there is no more important time to begin the necessary hard work than today.
Chris Golden will be attending the ServiceNation summit and Presidential Forum as a Young Leader.
