Lee Iacocca: Where is your outrage?
by Lee
Iacocca
Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where the
hell 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 damned
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 maybe 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.
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. George Bush, Dick
Cheney and who is this Bozo coming up next? One of the most Liberal Idiots in
the U. S. Senate and he is talking about disarming America. I can't believe the
American people are seeing what he is about to do to this country. May God have
mercy on us all.
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 Hell 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 all moving offshore. We're getting slaughtered by
health care costs. Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a
coherent energy policy. Our schools are the worst in the world. Our borders are
like sieves. The middle class is being squeezed every which way. These are
times that cry out for leadership and we are getting ready to put the most
Liberal Senator in the U. S. Senate in as our next President because we want to
be fair and elect someone just because of his race. We don't have time to be
fair; we need a strong leader.
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 hope 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. Well guess what people? We are having more floods right now. What are we
doing to help these people out? Now, that's just crazy. Storms happen. Deal
with it. Make a plan. Figure out what you're going to do the next time. Why are
we allowing people to build in flood plains anyway? If you build in a flood
area, expect to be flooded and deal with it. Don't expect the Government to
bail you out.
Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can restore
our competitive edge in manufacturing. All they seem to be thinking now-days is
getting themselves bigger salaries and bonuses. 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? Likely nothing!
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 and the Senate. 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? I honestly don't think any of you have one!
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.
