Today the Whitehouse followed through on creating a vegetable garden on the Whitehouse lawn. First Lady Michelle Obama broke ground with local students to grow vegetables and expand these kids understanding of food.

I’ve talked on several occasions about leadership by example and I’m proud of our leaders today, in this case. Many of the social problems our world faces is related directly to how removed we see ourselves from the essential components of life: respect for ourselves, for each other and for the environment around us.

Can you survive without money, without an iPod, etc.? Absolutely. Can you survive without food, water, air and shelter? Not so much.

The important opportunity that Federal, State and Local leaders have (both public and private) is audience. Over recent history we’ve had all too many examples of leaders who have done the wrong thing, only now are some of these people being made to pay – although many of them continue to get paid.

In my proposal to the City of Columbus I mentioned moving the Pearl Alley Market to the Statehouse lawn. Others have suggested the same. This would be purely symbolic, but important in that. Agriculture and food production are primary industries here in Ohio and Central Ohio. So, instead of hiding our downtown farmers market away in an alley, like some sort of disgrace, we should celebrate it on our State’s front yard.

Similarly, our leaders ask Ohioans to consider their diet, to make right choices that will benefit their health, finances and thus the overall well being of the State. Instead of just talking about it why not plant the Statehouse with vegetables as a showcase to what every person could be doing in their backyard, or that empty lot down the street.

Finally, what about public transit? 64% of Ohioans support the 3C rail connection, and a majority of urban Ohioans support upgrades to their inner-city public transit systems (although there’s plenty of argument about what that should look like). Instead of just talking about these things in a theoretical way why aren’t more of our leaders taking COTA to work, etc.?

Our First Lady did something very simple and basic today, she put a shovel in the ground. Symbolically however she broke ground on the type of leadership our world needs to return to – leadership by doing.