Our Bridge to the Future: Does Character Matter?

The other day my daughter and I were discussing a home improvment project. I asked her if she would recommend a contractor. She did, and added that her contractor was a little more expensive but he was honest. That is why she would recommend him.

She wanted me to swallow a little more expense in exchange of a charcater trait - honesty. Many of us would do that. Many of us would pay a little, or even a lot, more to a honest contractor than pay less to one whose honesty they weren't quite sure of.

What if the 'contractor' was the president of the country, a caretaker of our life experiences, a harbinger of our future? Would we pay him or her a little more, even a lot more, if we could be sure of his honesty?

Isn't it strange that much of the talk in these elections - polls, focus groups, and what have you - is about expense and not charcater? We are worried about the cost of milk and eggs, gas and toys, healthcare,  and so on, but not about humility, accountability, truthfulness, fairness in administrating justice, decency, obedience to rule of law? 

May be I wasn't paying attention, but this morning for the first time I saw a poll that asked about charcater preferences - perhaps an exception that proved the rule.

Think about it. Please read my preceding post: "Who Should I vote for? Here is a Thought".

Your comments are welcome!

POSTSCRIPT: In the past, have we ever considered character traits to be the overriding deciding factor in electing a president as we would surely consider in hiring a home improvement contractor, for example? Why not? Are they really that much different in their impact on our lives? Would you consider debating this issue?

Who Should I vote for? Here is a Thought

WHEN THE REST OF THE WORLD WAS RULED by autocrats, dictators, and usurpers of different types, the only democratically elected leader of a polity of his time, Caliph Abu Bakr (ruled 632-634), laid out how he will lead and govern, without the benefit of direct Divine revelation. As the first Head of State and Government of the political community that the Prophet Muhammad had founded, Caliph Abu Bakr delivered his first (inaugural) sermon (khutbah) in a few sentences. Each sentence of his short inaugural address - his sermon - was a succinct expression of a timeless leadership paradigm encompassing a quality a leader should possess. 

"O People! I have been put in authority over you and I am not the best of you. So if I do the right thing, help me and if I do wrong then put me straight. Truthfulness is a sacred trust and lying is a betrayal. The weak amongst you is strong in my sight. I will surely try to remove his pain and suffering. And the strong among you is weak to me. I will, Allah willing, realize the right from him fully. No people abandon jihad in the path of God save that He strikes them with humiliation. When obscene things spread among any nation, calamities generally continued to descend upon them. As long as I obey Allah and His messenger, you should obey me, and if I do not obey Allah and His messenger, then obedience to me is not incumbent upon you. Now stand for prayer."

(Ibn Hashim's al-Sirah al-Nabawiyah about Saqifah bani S'ada - sermon of Abubakr - 2/661) 

I suggest that we consider using the structure below to determine who we should vote for in these upcoming elections. We can score the two main candidates on key relevant pronouncements of Khalifa Abu Bakr. Pretty easy.

HOW?