My wife encouraged me to write something about talent and the interface with the elections in the US.  I scratched my head (figuratively) until some of the following thoughts came together.

Look at the leaders of a democratic country–they are a reflection (or projection if you will) of the people they represent.  The aspirations, pride, patriotism, greed, humanity, biases, wisdom, folly, enlightenment and blindness of the people are embodied in the elected leaders.  The talent and judgment and choices of the people gets elected to office.  When people are unhappy with their leaders, on some level they are also unhappy with themselves.  That may sound philosophical to some, but it’s also the cold, hard truth.

Most people focus on the leaders–the candidates and their positions, policies, their merits and flaws.  I encourage you though to look at the electorate, the people who vote and put the leaders in office.  It’s the talent of the people who go to the polls that determines the direction of a country to a much greater degree than the individual they elect.  When we ignore that and elevate our leaders to to a cult-hero status, we literally give our power away. 

Today, on the eve of the US election I’m going to champion the talent of the people, the great mass who will collectively decide the direction and leadership of their country.  Whether you agree or not with the outcome, look a little deeper into the wisdom of the choice that is made.  That choice will arise from a deep collective talent finding expression.