Right now our world, in its precarious financial, social and moral crises, needs courage more than anything else. Everywhere you look we are in need of leaders who aren’t afraid to stand up, do something that needs to be done and say “to hell with what people think.”

Some people may balk at the idea that the public might not know the right thing to do at certain times about particularly complex situations. There are times that a political leader must make a bold decision that will greatly affect the future of his or her people without the support of those people. Imagine if the elected leaders around the world actually had the courage to make decisions that needed to be made at the time when they needed to be made regardless of the political consequences and the public relations problems that may ensue.

The decisions made by Abraham Lincoln ultimately led to him being assassinated, but his courageous leadership freed an enslaved people and ultimately kept the Union together. Imagine if Harry Truman worried about public opinion more than ending World War II and chose to conduct the war in a less aggressive manner instead of dropping the atomic bomb and ending the one of the most gruesome wars in human history.

Currently, the Middle East is in turmoil, Europe is about to fall off the fiscal cliff, and America is in the middle of an embarrassingly desperate election for president. The world is again being faced with a race of arms between Israel and Iran. The line is about to be drawn in the sand for nations to choose sides in this upcoming battle. If we are not careful, a great battle will be waged that is unlikely to leave any corner of the world unaffected. Courage will be necessary to overcome the evil that lurks

in the world hidden by misguided demagogues leading their people against human dignity and freedom.

The citizens of the world are in a serious situation. We are consuming our energy supplies at an increasingly unsustainable rate, our population will soon outpace our ability to feed everyone, and there are currently 900 million people without access to clean water. These are problems never before encountered by man, and the ability of our leaders to properly prepare for them will greatly determine the quality of life of future generations. We must stand behind the leaders making the hard decisions in spite of mounting political pressure to make the easy, instant gratification choice.

The last bite…

It’s been a while since I wrote about trying to eat healthy. Well, Courtney and I went to Let’s Top It in LaPlace on Friday night and enjoyed fresh yogurt topped with anything imaginable. I had the regular flavored yogurt with almonds, mango, blackberries, blueberries and granola. I felt a lot healthier, so if you need a guilt-free dessert after a huge meal, be sure to visit the Let’s Top It in LaPlace. I give yogurt topped with too many things to list 4.5 (out of 5) crumbs!

Buddy Boe, a resident of Garyville, owns a public relations and program management company and is well known on the local political (and food) scenes. His column appears Wednesdays in L’Observateur.