Taking Back America...Remember Lee Iacocca, the man who rescued Chrysler
Corporation from it's death throes?
He's now 82 years old and has a new book, and here are
some excerpts.
Lee Iacocca Says:
'Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with
what's happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We
should be screaming bloody murder. We've got a gang of
clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a
cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind,
and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less
build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone
sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say,
'Stay the course'
Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is
America , not the damned 'Titanic'. I'll give you a sound
bite: 'Throw all the bums out!'
You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off
my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up.
I hardly recognize this country anymore.
The most famous business leaders are not the innovators
but the guys in handcuffs. While we're fiddling in Iraq ,
the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what
to do. And the press is waving 'pom -poms' instead of
asking hard questions. That's not the promise of the '
America ' my parents and yours traveled across the ocean
for. I've had enough. How about you?
I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a
patriot if you're not outraged. This is a fight I'm ready
and willing to have. The Biggest 'C' is Crisis ! (Iacocca
elaborates on nine Cs of leadership, crisis being the
first.)
Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times
of crisis. It's easy to sit there with your feet up on
the desk and talk theory. Or send someone else's kids off
to war when you've never seen a battlefield yourself.
It's another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling
down.
On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more
than any other time in our history. We needed a steady
hand to guide us out of the ashes. A Hell of a Mess So
here's where we stand. We're immersed in a bloody war
with no plan for winning and no plan for leaving. We're
running the biggest deficit in the history of the country.
We're losing the manufacturing edge to Asia , while our
once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health
care costs. Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in
power has a coherent energy policy. Our schools are in
trouble. Our borders are like sieves. The middle class
is being squeezed every which way These are times that cry
out for leadership.
But when you look around, you've got to ask:' Where have
all the leaders gone?' Where are the curious, creative
communicators? Where are the people of character,
courage, conviction, omnipotence, and common sense? may
be a sucker for alliteration, but I think you get the
point.
Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland
security than making us take off our shoes in airports and
throw away our shampoo? We've spent billions of dollars
building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to do
is react to things that have already happened.
Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of
Hurricane Katrina. Congress has yet to spend a single day
evaluating the response to the hurricane, or demanding
accountability for the decisions that were made in the
crucial hours after the storm.
Everyone's hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping it
doesn't happen again. Now, that's just crazy. Storms
happen. Deal with it. Make a plan. Figure out what
you're going to do the next time.
Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively
about how we can restore our competitive edge in
manufacturing. Who would have believed that there could
ever be a time when 'The Big Three' referred to Japanese
car companies? How did this happen, and more important,
what are we going to do about it?
Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for
paying down the debit, or solving the energy crisis, or
managing the health care problem. The silence is
deafening. But these are the crises that are eating away
at our country and milking the middle class dry.
I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn't elect you
to sit on your asses and do nothing and remain silent
while our democracy is being hijacked and our greatness is
being replaced with mediocrity. What is everybody so
afraid of? That some bonehead on Fox News will call them
a name? Give me a break. Why don't you guys show some
spine for a change?
Had Enough?
Hey, I'm not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom
here. I'm trying to light a fire. I'm speaking out
because I have hope I believe in America . In my lifetime
I've had the privilege of living through some of America 's
greatest moments. I've also
experienced some of our worst crises: the 'Great
Depression', 'World War II', the 'Korean War', the
'Kennedy Assassination', the 'Vietnam War', the 1970s oil
crisis, and the struggles of recent years culminating with
9/11. If I've learned
one thing, it's this: 'You don't get anywhere by standing
on the sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action.
Whether it's building a better car or building a better
future for our children, we all have a role to play.
That's the challenge I'm raising in this book. It's a
call to 'Action' for people who, like me, believe in
America . It's not too late, but it's getting pretty
close. So let's shake off the crap and go to work. Let's
tell 'em all we've had 'enough.'
"There are candidates out there right now working harder than ever", says Gary Ruff an Independent Party Candidate. "It is ashamed we cannot seem to find a few good men, the kind that built this country. Instead, we have men building their families, without a care to the country. At least they haven't given up on the Church, but as Rome goes...
Make your own contribution by sending this to everyone you
know and care about. It's our country, folks; and it's our
future. Our future is at stake!
