Melting Pot

Everyone has an opinion about everything but very few people have a solution to a problem.

With the current election looming and as the debate heats up on who should or shouldn't be the next president, people seem to be more opinionated. You hear it on the radio, TV, at restaurants, bars, dinner tables, emails, cook outs, fantasy football drafts, blogs, etc...

I have friends and family that are so far left wing and so far right wing and everything in between. I enjoy hearing everyone's opinion and what they think is right or wrong. What I find interesting is that neither side really listens to the other. They just think that their opinion is the right one and they spend all their time just trying to convince the other side that they are right. Why is this? Is it because we don't want to "lose"? Are we so scared that we might be wrong that if we just try to see both sides or come to terms with the other person's opinion we will lose.

Everyone opinion is what makes this country so great. It is the freedom to express your opinion and the chance to be heard that is one of the back bones of this great country. Whom ever gets elected in November will have to be able to listen to people's opinions, see both sides of it, and hopefully be able to use the best solution, who ever comes up with it.

One of the greatest skills a leader can have is being able to listen and take what he/she has heard and if need be alter their thinking or at least consider the thought. Then being able to act on that and not get power hungry and being able to swallow ones pride to do what is the right thing. Not the popular thing or what the polls say. But the right thing.

Both candidates have a lot of opinions and both have very few concrete solutions. I am able to recall only a handful of past elections. But every four years someone from both parties comes in and promises to do all these things. But in reality, they only do (if they are lucky) half the things that they promised. So the question for me becomes who is going to actually listen, and make the right choices? Well that is the million dollar question.....