Friday, May 9, 2014

Leaders point a direction, followers must choose... (#1925)

No one has all the answers. No one has most of the answers. Very few have some of the answers. So being a leader has a lot of unknown qualities to it. I like to think of myself as a leader and for that I am humbled. It is hard enough justifying to myself the directions I choose but in the end I do go forward. If anyone thinks that leading is easy they are profoundly mistaken. The problem is that if the direction chosen does not have the best of intentions, along with the purest of principles throughout, it is likely to fail. My rule of thumb is to do nothing that harms. If there is no harm in the way I choose then at least no one will be hurt. If there is more than no harm then benefits are all that happen and the choice taken is a good one. The history of our species, Homo-sapien, has by all accounts been a rocky one. Throughout our history our leaders have mostly been less than genuine. Power, greed and lust has most always seemed to permeate the control of those who are, by coincidence, serendipity, choice and by force, given the honor of leading our civilizations. The idea that leaders get to be leaders because they are special in some intellectual way is highly illogical. That is an ideal idea of how we come to lead. Most acquire the post of leadership through ulterior motives and underhanded alliances. For a leader to rise up out of the masses and show him/herself worthy too many obstacles are placed in the way by those who wish never to give up power for a worthy leader to rise to the top. We are left instead with those who manipulate the current power structure as best they can and hope to ascend with as little resistance as possible. Not all is lost as we have some who are fighting mightily against the old guard that protects the power in our country and if they continue to fight and lead we will then have a real choice to follow.

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