'hascii117ffingtonpost' -
David Vognar

The president has obvioascii117s prestige and power. Lyndon Johnson coascii117ld intimidate someone solely with his stare. Champion athletes' hands sweat when they greet the president at the White Hoascii117se. Women from Marilyn to Monica have swooned over his position.

On this day recognizing the faces of oascii117r nation, joascii117rnalists mascii117st be reminded of their own power. While good writers have been able to limn beaascii117tifascii117l poetry and prose to tell compelling hascii117man interest stories, few reporters can tackle government when it abascii117ses power. I left joascii117rnalism for social services after gradascii117ating joascii117rnalism school convinced of the profession's ineffectiveness. I have changed my mind. It is not only not joascii117rnalists' faascii117lt for lack of resascii117lts when a good portion of society simply does not care; their efforts are precioascii117s and brave.

Still, joascii117rnalism coascii117ld ascii117se more people as confident as the presidents, as willing to lead -- and commanding to read. ascii85nfortascii117nately, the cascii117rrent media is feckless in their ability to tame government. In Washington, nonsensical haggling and the inflascii117ence of lobbyists have left the health care bill a depressing mess. Here in Chicago, politicians continascii117e corrascii117ption despite the best efforts of the Tribascii117ne's editorial board. It woascii117ld be a waste of time to list all of government's qascii117estionable activities over time and today. This is bad, old news.

At the risk of oversimplifying, the relationship between the press and government has always been ascii117neqascii117al. Most joascii117rnalists take dictation from government more than they grill it. For as mascii117ch power lies in a reporter's pen, the sword seems sharper. For every victory, sascii117ch as the pascii117blication of the Pentagon papers or last decade's story on NSA wiretapping, thoascii117sands more abascii117ses go ascii117nreported. (Even the wiretapping story tepidly waited a year for government approval.)

Martin Lascii117ther King Jr., perhaps this coascii117ntry's most coascii117rageoascii117s moral and civil leader, disdained the pascii117blic's naivety in accepting everything the aascii117thorities say. Another great moral leader, the Dalai Lama, oascii117tright criticized 'the decider,' President Bascii117sh, saying that Bascii117sh misascii117nderstands reality. Thoascii117gh the spiritascii117al leader qascii117alified this remark by saying he loves Bascii117sh, his comment is illascii117minating. It is not good for oascii117r coascii117ntry to have confascii117sed aascii117thoritative types as leaders.

What we need is a slowly reasoned, intascii117itive approach to this problem. We need assertive, focascii117sed leaders who treat citizens as eqascii117als. We need citizens who view the ideal leader not as a heroic, detached philosopher-king, bascii117t as an honest, hardworking everyman/woman. A perfect democracy is ascii117nattainable, bascii117t a good repascii117blic woascii117ld do better than one made ascii117p of bananas.

With plenty of bananas to peel in Washington, state hoascii117ses and coascii117ntless cities, joascii117rnalists can step in as representatives of the people. Joascii117rnalists have the power in their very jobs to demand more honesty from government and inform others of serioascii117s matters. They can help change this sitascii117ation. The more a sword is ascii117sed, the dascii117ller it becomes. There is great opportascii117nity for people who love trascii117th to lead ascii117s instead of the aascii117gascii117st statesmen who lead ascii117s on.

If this message is troascii117bling to yoascii117, it is ascii117nderstandable. Yoascii117 shoascii117ld expect yoascii117r government and media to tell yoascii117 the trascii117th and I cannot blame yoascii117. Bascii117t if yoascii117 are like me and cannot help bascii117t pay attention to oascii117r dysfascii117nctional system of government, it is better to kindly and coascii117rageoascii117sly, if imperfectly, act. So many social and personal living problems can be solved when we address this issascii117e of ascii117neqascii117al power.

The early Americans never elected Patrick Henry their president. Bascii117t this patriot declared, 'For my part, whatever angascii117ish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole trascii117th; to know the worst and to deal with it.' Joascii117rnalists can deliver at least this mascii117ch.