Political Wisdom: Everybody Poops

It's that time of year again. You know, the season when the days become shorter and the nights become longer. The air grows cooler and the trees grow bare. It’s the time of year when, no matter where you turn, cynicism and discontent abound.

Obviously, I’m speaking of election season.

About to vote for the first time, my eighteen-year-old asked me if there is a handbook or instruction manual on who to vote for.

“It really comes down to which qualities you value and expect to see in the people you elect,” I told her. “And if they’re already in office, you base your vote on their performance, not their rhetoric.”

“So no book?” She laughed.

“Well, there are actually many books,” I responded.

I thought back to raising my children and the importance I had placed on teaching them the values that I prayed they would one day embrace as their own. I recalled all the classic books I read to them when they were small children. The books contained simple themes emphasizing how to be a good friend, citizen, neighbor, employee, and leader.

While observing Washington recently, I’ve realized that many of our politicians seem confused and often lack the pragmatic truths, values, and common sense taught in these children’s books. Perhaps once they grew up, politicians forgot what they learned in childhood. Perhaps no one read to them as children or perhaps they were dropped on their heads. In any case, I would recommend the following as must-reads for our politicians and anyone heading to the polls.

The Little Engine that Could: Great leaders have goals. When reaching those goals becomes difficult, great leaders inspire hope and encourage others to never give up.

Miss Nelson is Missing: Sometimes, tough love is important and necessary. Holding people accountable challenges them to higher performance. Often, accountability inspires people to greatness, by expecting from them more than they realized they were capable of accomplishing.

Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse: Taking responsibility for and expressing regret over the things that go wrong under your watch is often an important step in correcting a situation. Accepting blame and seeking forgiveness is powerful.

Little Blue Truck: Be polite and kind to others. Model civility.

The Lorax: Being a good steward of resources and the environment is always relevant. We will constantly be required to seek a balance between progress and nature. This classic book stresses that those in leadership have an even greater responsibility to improve the world. It closes with a warning: “Unless someone like you / Cares a whole awful lot / Nothing is going to get better / It’s not.”

Oh, The Places You’ll Go: This classic inspirational story tells us that life is an adventure and that everyone should reach for their wildest dreams. Rather than viewing people only as part of a group, good leaders recognize the power of seeing each person as an individual following his or her own dreams.

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie: In this book, granting one request leads to the asking of another in a never-ending cycle of requests. Our leaders should consider that well-intended efforts and policies can have the potential for abuse with long-lasting expectations and demands that drain everyone in the process.

The Empty Pot: It goes without saying that honesty is always the best policy. If you want to lead, it's important to be honest with yourself and with others. Honesty builds trust and respect.

Harry the Dirty Dog: When things that fall under your leadership become dirty and unrecognizable, it's often worth the effort to clean them up and restore them rather than just throw them away. You might be surprised at the irreplaceable beauty and worth hidden underneath.

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day: The apparently unbelievably challenging lesson from this book is that we all have bad days. Suck it up and don’t blame others.

The Little Red Hen: Requiring everyone to contribute their unique talents to the best of their abilities is good for society.

Everybody Poops: Politicians, like everyone else, are human. They’re not superior to the people who elected them, and they should demonstrate humility by adhering to the same policies they enforce.

If you disagree with any of the wisdom imparted in this article, please do not email me or my editor. Instead, send your insightful email to Washington D.C. - I am certain that if enough of you raise your collective concerns Congress will immediately swing into action. They will reallocate millions of tax dollars in order to form a committee and a subcommittee overseen by a czar in charge of investigating politically inconvenient misinformation disguised as children's literature. Most importantly, please include in your correspondence the reminder that everybody poops.

edited by Rebekah Crozier

This post was inspired by Geoffrey James’s “Business Wisdom From 10 Classic Children’s Books.” (https://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/business-wisdom-from-10-classic-children-s-books.html)

image provided by “In Pastel”: (https://www.flickr.com/photos/g-dzilla/5198225154)