Dear Editor,
To find a great modern-day leader with a life full of integrity is nearly impossible, but President Granger definitely fits the bill. To be a good leader one must exhibit certain traits, skills and behaviours. President Granger exhibits these qualities. His impeccable character and moral integrity granted him support from different racial groups.
For this reason, many like me felt betrayed by the President when he kept the ExonMobil’s signing bonus a secret. This set a new low in transparency. It was a shocking betrayal of the people who voted for him; a sneaky, dishonest move by a man of unquestionable moral character. I hope that he is aware that a higher standard of honesty and integrity is required of him by the citizens.
We know that the President is not perfect, and we don’t want him to be, but we do expect him to be honest and transparent with us. We expect him to keep his promises and to tell us the truth at all times, and not to hide anything from us. We know that politics is a dirty game, but we don’t want President Granger to become dirty. We expect him to go high when others go low, and not to let politics change, corrupt or cause him to lower his moral standards.
If the President makes a mistake, he should not be afraid to say I’m sorry. And when he is wrong, he should promptly admit it; he should not think that he is too big to say that he is sorry.
The citizenry would truly respect him for saying it, and he should not be like some of his predecessors, current ministers and other Members of Parliament who are too arrogant and narcissistic to apologize.
We expect the President to lead by example by demanding and demonstrating honesty and integrity. Having said that, I want him to immediately implement his code of conduct for senior public officials. His presidency will not be judged by how many jobs he provided, though employment is important; not by how many millions of dollars in oil he collected from ExonMobil, though the money is important; instead, it will be judged by whether he kept his moral character, and whether he kept his promises to the nation.
The country’s future will be bright if President Granger is a unifier and not a divider; if he is a capitalist and not a communist; democratic and not autocratic; honest and not dishonest. He holds the key to the country’s success or failure in his hands. We want to be able to trust him when he tells us about his plans for the country, and we also want him to know that when he keeps secrets from us it’s hard for us to trust him.
In the end, the only thing that matters is our character and integrity.
“When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost” – Billy Graham.
Yours faithfully,
Anthony Pantlitz
