Fear vs Hope; what influences you to action?

We are tired. We are poor.

We are now huddled masses yearning to breathe free. 

And we have come to a crossroads in American political history. In world history, really, if you listen to the rest of the globe as they watch with personal interest while holding bated breathe. 

What will America do? How will America vote? 

Consider, for a moment, the etched bronze plague on the Statue Of Liberty. The words so heavy and true in 2016 just as they were penned in 1883 by American poet Emma Lazarus (1849-1887).

Here is the original sonnet titled, "The New Colossus."

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she

With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Who is the brazen giant? What is the Mother of Exiles? Who is the tired, the poor? 

What does America need now most; to be protected or to be a safe place? Can one element really exist without the other? 

These questions are soul-searching, painful and dangerous to address, but we need to. As a group, we are tired of the current scene and even more weary of personal politics, agenda setting and ego fighting as a strategy for the leader of the free world. We are ethics-poor and humanity-starved. The rest of the world is watching as we huddle together to determine what to do, where to go and who to follow home. It's easy to see that America needs a servant leader now more than ever. A leader who will lead by example, with truth and compassion, but with strength both of character and virtue. We need to be able to trust our leadership, trust each other and trust ourselves. We do not need to be scared. We already are fearful of even ourselves. A servant leader is what we need most. 

The one question every voting American needs to ask themselves as they head to the ballot is this:
"Am I voting out of fear or am I voting with hope in my heart?" 

Godspeed America. Please make yourself well again.