Role models

I believe that role models are very important. You do not have to know someone for them to be a role model but there has to be a connection between what you want to do and the person you identify as a role model.  

For me a role model also has to have personal integrity.  I was listening recently to the former US President Bill Clinton and the work that was being done by his foundation in Africa.  The work that is being done is worthwhile and does appear to be changing lives.  But while I admire Clinton and his foundation I cannot identify him as a role model because of his personal life. 

What he may or may not have done with Monica Lewinsky was bad enough but his pathetic efforts to avoid responsibility for his actions will always leave one with a lingering sense of distrust

I mention this because when I decided to stand for election I went looking for politicians that I could identify as role models.  I could not find many. In fact I only found one.

Senator Paul Wellstone was a US Democratic Senator who sadly died in a plane crash in 2002.  He was a grass roots activist who never lost sight of the importance of 'kitchen table' issues such as education, health, the environment and the family.  I first came across him after reading the quote:

“Politics isn't about big money or power games; it's about the improvement of people's lives”

It is easy to become cynical about politics and politicians even on a remote island in the South Atlantic.  But Wellstone was able to answer the question that I asked myself: why did I want to become a Councillor. There is only one reason and that is to work to improve people's lives. 

I have just come across another quote which seems to sum up the dominant issue on St Helena as we prepare for the airport:

"Above and beyond the question of how to grow the economy there is a legitimate concern about how to grow the quality of our lives."

We seem to hear a lot about growing the economy but less about the quality of people's lives.  It is the latter that should be the challenge for us as Councillors

One final quote from Wellstone and it is the ultimate challenge for a someone involved in politics, it is the one lesson we must remind ourselves of each day

Never separate the life you lead from the

words you speak