I don't really think it's our mission to "lead the world," I mean, what if we could live a good life, take care of our children and our planet? Try our best to lean to the light? But I really like this quote from Barack Obama:
"To lead the world, we must lead by example. We must be willing to acknowledge our failings, not just trumpet our victories. And when I'm President, we'll reject torture - without exception or equivocation; we'll close Guantanamo; we'll be the country that credibly tells the dissidents in the prison camps around the world that America is your voice, America is your dream, America is your light of justice."
It sounds like a start to some kind of vision of redemption...I wonder if he'll have a chance to realize it...?