Events of the past months have illustrated starkly the lack of dynamic leaders in whom the peoples of the world can have confidence. Among the democracies there are no Churchills, no Lincolns, no Washingtons. Britain, France, Germany, Canada, the United States are all beset by staggering problems and appear to be caught in a quagmire. Not one of them has a charismatic leader who has seized the fancy of the multitudes and brought to his nation a captivating vision around which to unite.
In the United States our leaders are long on promises and short on performance. Things just haven’t turned out the way they were supposed to. The economy stumbles along, inflation continues to take its deadly toll, immorality keeps mounting, the churches are in disarray, and apathy and despair seem to be increasing.
There is a hopeful sign. Large numbers of people are being converted to Jesus Christ right now (see lead editorial, page 20). From among them God may produce a new strain of political, economic, and social leadership that will steer the ship of state better in the days ahead. A leadership that could summon people to restraint, sacrifice, and love of neighbor, and instill in them a sense of confidence and hope, could get us started curing our ills.
