Running The Country On Purpose

Joey Reiman

America was founded with purpose. Out of a collection of 13 colonies with 13 different leaders, 13 unique currencies, 13 distinct mottos and 13 colorful flags arose a declaration of independence.

Thirteen states became one state of mind as the words "we the people" heralded the beginning of an era that would focus on our lives, our freedoms and the
pursuit of that which makes fulfills us -- our purpose, both individual as well
as collective.

Arianna Huffington’s sentiment in “Glenn Beck, President Obama, and the Hunger for Purpose in Times of Transition” is reminiscent of Ben Franklin when she calls out our nation’s lack of purpose and calls for "Hard truths and big ideas. A narrative arc to our lives. The emerging burden of citizenship.” Franklin too pleaded with divisive groups to act as one with purpose. “We must hang together or we will certainly hang separately.”

President Barack Obama would serve our nation best by returning to what made us great in the first place. This means focusing not only on what can be changed in the future but what never changes -- our past. Our founding principles were created to guide the leading principals of this nation.

Prominent journalist, teacher and advisor to nine Presidents, David Gergen, writes in his book, Eyewitness To Power, "A President's central purpose must be rooted in the nation’s core values...Presidents depart from the nation’s core values at their peril."

The best of leaders are storytellers who don't rewrite history but use it to tell a story of what is possible. We witnessed this when President John F. Kennedy galvanized Americans by returning to our ethos of frontierism. NASA had not the metals necessary to build a rocket capable of landing a man on the moon, but purpose has a way of jettisoning the cargo of doubt, skepticism and cynicism.

Franklin Roosevelt used purpose to introduce Social Security as a way of protecting "life." Both Bushes used purpose by recalling "liberty" from those who would suppress us and Ronald Reagan used purpose to illustrate our "pursuit of happiness." And President Obama subtly tapped into our ethos of “we the people” coming together to affect positive change in his recent remarks about a community working together to rebuild New Orleans.

President Obama and Glenn Beck are thirsty for change but as Ms. Huffington acknowledges what we all feel in our gut is a yearning for purpose or what Aristotle called “the whatness” of the polis. Purpose is neither a Democrat nor a Republican. It is ethos, the Greek word for "starting point" the instructive spark of fire we now call The United States.  War, the economy, the environment and a crisis in meaning have all but put the fire out. Only by going back will we move forward as a nation and a planet.

The fruits are in our roots -- free will, free enterprise, freedom from those who would hurt us and freedom to become those we dream to be. If this all seems idealistic, then we are on the right track as were our predecessors who never hungered for purpose. Indeed, they were sustained by it.