Happy Today!

It is a new day in the US of A – Inauguration Day! No its not a holiday but it is a day of high significance.  Its a day which is supposed to be a reminder of the good and bad of democracy.

Good because if your candidate won, you are celebrating and looking forward to their agenda items.  Bad because if your candidate lost, you now have to begin the countdown to the opportunity to either vote them out or change your perception of the new President based on their performance.

All in all, each of those scenarios are anxiety provoking.  Its like when you get a new supervisor at work, no matter what you thought of the last one – you knew what you could expect.  This new one is gonna take some time to acclimate yourself to their style of doing things.  You hope for a positive working relationship but you brush off your resume just in case.

The difference between a new President and a new Supervisor is that it isn’t so easy to leave the country to escape them.  Leaving the job is one thing, leaving the country – well….

So here we are Inauguration Day.  Whether you live in the USA or not, you have likely spent a few moments of your week looking at the news coverage so this day is no surprise.  In honor of Inauguration Day, I thought it fitting to share a few quotes from past Presidents to remind us that no matter what our personal opinion is of them – sometimes a nugget of wisdom can be gained from their four years in office.

 

  1. “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” – Theodore Roosevelt
  2. “Be patient and calm; no one can catch a fish with anger.” – Herbert Hoover
  3. “Its amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.” – Harry S Truman
  4. “Never waste a minute thinking about people you don’t like.” – Dwight D Eisenhower
  5. “Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.” – John F. Kennedy
  6. “Live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly, leave the rest to God.” – Ronald Reagan
  7. “We all do better when we work together.  Our differences do matter, but our common humanity matters more.” – Bill Clinton
  8. “The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don’t wait for good things to happen to you.  If you go out and make good things happen, you will fill the world with hope, you will fill yourself with hope.”- Barack Obama
  9. “The measure of a society is found in how they treat their weakest and most helpless citizens.”- Jimmy Carter
  10. “In the end, leaders are defined by the convictions they hold.” – George W. Bush

 

Politicians are humans first and they make mistakes. They have election campaigns and term limits. If you don’t like the person in office, remember there will always be another election.

That’s the beautiful thing about democracy. Citizens are allowed to make their voice matter by casting votes.

Til next time,

“Always remember, others may hate you, but those who hate you don’t win unless you hate them-and then you destroy yourself.” – Richard Nixon

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