Politicians are a part of the political machine, with traditional values and sponsors. Real change comes from within, we are told, and so therefore there is a need to be very clear as to what is expected and what can be delivered, if frustration does not set in six months after election fever has died away.

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For either Barack Obama or Hilary Rodham Clinton to make the White House is a monumental personal achievement that will drive a coach and horses through a social norm that has been vehemently protected for centuries. One small step for evolution but one huge step for personal endeavour. 

Is this the “change” that is being promoted around the country, as the presidential race goes into overdrive? What changes will we see from the first black president or woman president and just what is expected – or being promised? 

I am by no means anywhere near an expert upon the intricacies of present political activity, either here in the UK, or across the “pond”, but I can speak with some experience of a woman leader. 

As Britain’s first lady prime minister, Margaret Thatcher quickly became a respected leader, because she showed true grit and determination in carrying out her policies and beliefs. She remained resolute against Russia, and during the armed conflict that was the Falklands War. She introduced the concept of a “share owning democracy”, with all the dubious benefits this status inferred. 

But for all of her excellent characteristics and beliefs she remained a politician and a part of the political machine that fails to understand or communicate effectively with the electorate. She was popular but we did not see a transformation in the democratic environment. Indeed her single minded determination to force her beliefs through, no matter what, saw her eventual undoing. 

And so it is not the physical attributes of our leaders which might lead us to anticipate change. It can only be the concise words that are repeated time and time again, and do not buckle under scrutiny. The passion with which to put across a view can be learned, but the passion with which leaders embrace the electorate comes from deep within and is impossible to fake. 

If you look at news footage of someone like Roosevelt or Churchill, their eyes were all important indicators of what was going on in thier head and heart – nuggets of coal in the snow they were not. Weeping at human suffering and loss was real. 

Leadership that genuinely cares about the human condition comes from within and is born out of personal sacrifice and suffering. Only then can these experiences identify the need for change, and fuel real and meaningful change that will raise the spirits and self esteem of the people, giving them a sense of purpose and reason to strive – not a sense of renewed frustration six months after the election fever has died away. 

Striving is something inherent within us and continually ignored, even with the advent of this 21st century. For all of our efforts, the rewards seem to be increasingly dubious in providing us with any true sense of fulfillment. 

Since the middle of 2007 our financial markets have been experiencing a crisis of confidence the like of which we have never seen before – ever. 

Indeed if we go back twenty or thirty years we can see a change in the social climate that questions where we are going as a species. 

Fifty odd years ago when I was a child you could leave the keys in your car outside your house with impunity, and the house was never locked – that was just 10 miles from the centre of London, not some rural back water. 

Stress was a word that related to huge iron girders that held up buildings, or formed the construction of ocean going liners. Today it is applied to the human condition and does more to put into perspective the reality of modern day life than any other word or phrase. 

Whilst it is not a part of the human condition to go back, and I am not advocating a return to my childhood, we seem to have become more aggressive towards each other – the increasing number of murders committed by kids in their teens is beyond my comprehension. 

Political Correctness has replaced “a love of thy fellow man (or woman)”. 

We strive to achieve greater wealth, which we are told we are succeeding at, albeit that it seems to arrive by accumulating vast personal debt. 

Within the framework of modern society lies the need for change of a more fundamental nature. Whilst our technological achievements are staggering, even in just the last 50 years, our ability to get on with each other remains unchanged over the centuries. Continuous conflict and global warming are evidence of this state of affairs and show little signs of improving. 

Managing bows and arrows in time of war was easy, but now we have nuclear weapons, whose impact upon this planet could last for centuries. Whilst our weapons are witness to some evolutionary development, our thinking and perception of each other remains locked in the time of the bows and arrows. 

Surely it is here, in the plight of our human condition, that we need a new leadership that can focus more upon our own personal development as a species, in seeking to improve our daily lot. We have so much potential, readily evidenced by what we surround ourselves with, but the real change must come from helping us to evolve along with what we develop. 

Leaders who can identify this continuing gap and address it will attract immense interest and support in awakening something that has been dormant and suppressed within us for centuries, if not millennia. Freeing people to realize their true potential will not only provide the desperately needed levels of accountability our present activities so urgently require, but bring forth a new culture that business can only thrive within. 

The starting place has to be how we educate our young. To increase the emphasis upon teaching them how to reach informed decisions about how to live life must be amongst the most essential of requirement for a new culture.

Change like this does not threaten our existence but elevate our whole game. Providing the type of control and responsibility over our evolution that never before been achieved. 

This type of change, in my opinion can only relieve the pent up frustration that is increasingly breaking out around the globe. People can now talk directly to each other in a manner that they have never ever been capable of before. 

They can compare life experiences and educate each other. This has to be harnessed not suppressed – it is also called evolution and cannot be resisted. 

Surely the change we seek in our leaders would be seen in their recognition that we are not just “consumers”, “workers”, “punters”, “profit centre’s”, “units of profit” or a “commodity” to be traded. 

And from this basic respect stems a whole new political agenda of change which could lead us away from global warming, create more balanced corporate management and a renewed respect in the political system. 

A “fairy tale” or something worth striving for? - You chose!

(Authors note: I do not direct these observations at the American people but at world leadership. We seem to be coming more aggressive as a species and the bigger prizes made available by Globalisation seem to be at the root of it. We must direct our attention to who and what we are if we are to survive the changes now happening around the world. It is also inspiring to see such robust turnouts and interest in the Presidential elections - something we can only dream about in the UK at present!  

Authors Bio:
At a time when this planet and its inhabitants do not appear to be working in synergy, causing serious imbalances and Global Warming, I offer a personal view of our current plight in a combination of personal experiences, science, religion and psychology.
If your questions are not getting answers from a single belief system, as previously mine did not, I hope my perspectives on life may stimulate further thought for you. I am a member of the human race and it is in this context that I offer my own observations on life as a possible contribution to our development – a right available to us all.
Born and bred in London, in addition to Wendy my partner of 10 years, and my children - Rob, Mike and Sue, I love Rugby, Motor Racing, Scuba Diving, Furniture Restoration, Books, Wine and Cooking Good Food.