The Inner Quality of Man
Personal, Social, and Political Implications
Welcome
About the Author
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Essays: An Overview
Essays: The Responsibility and Power of Free Will
Essays: Realism and Idealism in Politics
Essays: Choosing the Inner Quality
Essays: The Inner Quality and Foreign Policy
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Essay 11: The great dilemma of political philosophy
Essay 12: The life and times of Machiavelli
Essay 13: Does the end justify the means?
Essay 14: Using the higher mind in politics
Essay 15: The role of values in decision making
Essay 15: The role of values in decision making

Power can corrupt moral standards, so it is essential that leaders of good will armor themselves against the temptations that accompany the power to make decisions on behalf of society. The best guide to moral values is the inner quality of the individual leader, who can apply the higher mind to work through the complexities of hard choices and still remain true to the personal values that lay the foundation of one's best character.

Every political leader is unique, coming to office with their own set of strengths and weaknesses. The key to being true to one's inner quality is to view life's circumstances as a continuity -- a moment in time in which certain decisions have to be made. Those decisions can have momentous consequences, so they need to be made deliberately and from a depth of thought and feeling that are pure in motive and good in intention.

Mistakes will be made, choices will be found out later to have been wrong. But the foundation of the decision is what is most important in the long run. If that foundation is based on the inner quality and use of the higher mind, the likelihood of mistakes being made is significantly smaller than if the leader uses only the carnal mind, selfish motives, and a hardened heart to guide their decisions.

A good leader should always seek to have "big mindedness," that is, a broad perspective of the world and what can be accomplished in a short period of time for the good of all. Popularity is fickle, agreement is tenuous, praise is fleeting. At the end of the day, the leader must be able to look in the mirror and say, "I did my very best." Such a person, who assumes responsibility and yet credits others for success, can be trusted with power to make decisions. 

But, that power should never be absolute, because no man, woman, or child upon this planet is perfect and all must struggle daily to improve themselves. This need for constant striving to become one's true self is the subject of our next set of essays. 

Essays on Survival and Transcendence in the 21st Century. Copyright 2011-2014 by Martin L.Lasater
WelcomeAbout the AuthorFile DownloadEssays: An OverviewEssays: The Responsibility and Power of Free WillEssays: Realism and Idealism in PoliticsEssays: Choosing the Inner QualityEssays: The Inner Quality and Foreign PolicyContact Information