This is from his book It's been posted all over the net,I really like it
No arguement on political parties here!
Lee Iacocca Says:
'Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up
with what's happening? Where the heck is our outrage? We
should be screaming bloody murder. We've got a gang of
clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a
cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind,
and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less
build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone
sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say,
'Stay the course'
Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is
America, not the darned 'Titanic'. I'll give you
a sound bite: 'Throw all the bums out!'
You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone
off my rocker, and may be I have. But someone has to speak
up. I hardly recognize this country anymore.
The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but
the guys in handcuffs. While we're fiddling in Iraq ,
the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to
do. And the press is waving 'pom-poms' instead of
asking hard questions. That's not the promise of the
'America' my parents and yours traveled across the
ocean for. I've had enough. How about you?
I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a
patriot if you're not outraged. This is a fight I'm
ready and willing to have.
The Biggest 'C' is Crisis !
Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times
of crisis. It's easy to sit there with your feet up on
the desk and talk theory. Or send someone else's kids
off to war when you've never seen a battlefield
yourself. It's another thing to lead when your world
comes tumbling down.
On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than
any other time in our history. We needed a steady hand to
guide us out of the ashes. A heck of a Mess. So here's
where we stand. We're immersed in a bloody war with no
plan for winning and no plan for leaving. We're running
the biggest deficit in the history of the country..
We're losing the manufacturing edge to Asia, while our
once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health care
costs. Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has
a coherent energy policy. Our schools are in trouble. Our
borders are like sieves. The middle class is being squeezed
every which way. These are times that cry out for
leadership.
But when you look around, you've got to ask: 'Where
have all the leaders gone?' Where are the curious,
creative communicators? Where are the people of character,
courage, conviction, omnipotence, and common sense? I may be
a sucker for alliteration, but I think you get the point.
Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland
security than making us take off our shoes in airports and
throw away our shampoo? We've spent billions of dollars
building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to do
is react to things that have already happened.
Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane
Katrina. Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating
the response to the hurricane, or demanding accountability
for the decisions that were made in the crucial hours after
the storm. Everyone's hunkering down, fingers crossed,
hoping it doesn't happen again. Now, that's just
crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a plan. Figure out
what you're going to do the next time.
Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about
how we can restore our competitive edge in manufacturing.
Who would have believed that there could ever be a time when
'The Big Three' referred to Japanese car companies?
How did this happen, and more important, what are we going
to do about it?
Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for
paying down the debt, or solving the energy crisis, or
managing the health care problem. The silence is deafening.
But these are the crises that are eating away at our country
and milking the middle class dry.
I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn't elect
you to sit on your asses and do nothing and remain silent
while our democracy is being hijacked and our greatness is
being replaced with mediocrity. What is everybody so afraid
of? That some bonehead on Fox News will call them a name?
Give me a break. Why don't you guys show some spine for
a change?
Had Enough?
Hey, I'm not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom
here. I'm trying to light a fire. I'm speaking out
because I have hope; I believe in America . In my lifetime
I've had the privilege of living through some of
America's greatest moments. I've also experienced
some of our worst crises: the 'Great Depression',
'World War II', the 'Korean War', the
'Kennedy Assassination', the 'Vietnam War',
the 1970s oil crisis, and the struggles of recent years
culminating with 9/11. If I've learned one thing,
it's this:
'You don't get anywhere by standing on the
sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action. Whether
it's building a better car or building a better future
for our children, we all have a role to play. That's the
challenge I'm raising in this book. It's a call to
'Action' for people who, like me, believe in America
. It's not too late, but it's getting pretty close.
So let's shake off the crap and go to work Let's
tell 'em all we've had 'enough.'
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Originally Posted by stratosjoe
