Heaven Help Us All 

      Last night I watched about 25 minutes of the first presidential debate. That is the way it was billed, but it was not like any debate I have seen or heard. What I saw last night was a squabble. An argument. A no rules, no holds barred altercation. An opportunity from both contestants to throw out misinformation, lies, skewed facts, and insults. Instead of two adults laying out their program of what they would like to do if elected, we have two challenged adults rolling around in the verbal barnyard muck and mire. 

      This debate was watched by people all over the world. What kept going through my mind was, what kind of image are we presenting to the rest of the world about the leadership or possible leadership of the United States of America.

     

      I imagine that those world leaders who previously considered themselves friends of the United States of America, most be looking around, wondering how best they are going to hedge their bets and thinking of ways to distance themselves without seeming to do so. 

      And those world leaders who are our avowed enemies or just leaders who would like to see us fail or at least not be quite all we have been in the past, are gleefully ramping up their endeavors to cause us more grief. 

      In my experience a leader who must shout, bluster, color the facts in his or her favor, and who does not dare listen, is a leader who is running scared because they don’t know what they’re doing. 

      I’m pretty sure that I saw two examples of that last night.