The White House

A few days ago I went on a tour of The White House. Even though it was not a truly behind-the-scenes look-see where you get to go into the oval office or the presidential family's private quarters, I must say I found it to be a lot of fun and very inspiring. Walking through the blue room, red room, state dining room, east room, china room, vermeil room and diplomatic reception room proved to be a vivid reminder of the great history of our great nation. The many portraits on the walls of our former presidents - some great and some, of course, not so great - was a reminder of the twists and turns our nation has taken over the past 233 years. The United States, I am convinced, remains on a journey where it strives to be the best it can be toward its citizens and sister nations. For that reason alone I take great pride in calling our imperfect nation home.

I also believe the path of our nation is not dissimilar to the ones Americans themselves are on. We seek to be the best we can be for the sake of ourselves and those around us. Where we as individual often fall down and, for the matter, our country runs into trouble is when we fail to communicate properly with others. We do not always communicate our questions, concerns, fears, agendas, or knowledge. We sometimes tend to place greater priority on protecting our egos or pride than we do on what is right. In short, we do not always believe in the innate goodness and sense of fairness of each other and, as a result, set off feelings mistrust, anger, frustration and disrespect in others.

Effective communication can not totally prevent those negative feelings or attitudes from happening, but the only way you can successfully combat them and keep them to a minimum is through open and honest communication. That is not pie-in-the sky thinking, but simple reality. Honesty is the result of inner integrity and respect for others. It travels on the wings of communication. The journey may not be smooth, nor may it lead to results we desire. But nevertheless honesty cannot be sustained without it being communicated and/or displayed in a visible way. I am not just talking to myself here, but to my country and its citizens as well.