We hear a lot from Republicans about needing a strong leader. Obama was always being called a weak leader by people who also blamed him for making them do stupid things. They also confuse bluster with strength. I prefer Teddy Roosevelt’s speak softly and carry a big stick to W’s Bring it on. With the exception of “Go ahead, Make my day.” how often did Clint Eastwood tell people how tough he was?
So what makes someone a Leader? I think a leader is someone who convinces others to follow him or her. I think the strength of a leader is a question of scale- the more people you can convince, the stronger you are. Now it is true that a leader with no followers is just a guy taking a walk, but if being in the front of a group is your definition of a leader, then let me ask- do you want to be the first lemming over the cliff?
See, here’s the thing- there are a lot of Americans who believe a lot of stuff that simply is not true, and provably so. When you ask them about this, they respond by saying it it their right to believe it- even though as I said it is provably false. Why would someone continue to hold onto beliefs that are provably untrue? For exactly two and only two reasons. They have invested time and energy believing in it and they get validation from another source.
I believe that true leadership is telling people that what they believe to be true is wrong because it is wrong, and bringing them around to the truth. Here’s the problem, the truth is complicated. It’s easy to tell people that illegal immigrants are taking their jobs and getting free medical care and their kids are getting free education. Is it happening? Yeah, a little, but is it the reason for the problems we need to address? NO!
We have been living under Reaganomics for over 30 years and it doesn’t work! See Kansas. Elected Republicans and their puppets, um er pundits, look at the economic inequality and say it’s a good thing! When the poors see how much more the rich have it will give them an incentive to become rich- seriously? Do you need an incentive to want more money? I kind of thought it was human nature to aspire. And is 100 million more of an incentive than 10 million when median household income is 60 thousand?
So rich people (The Koch brothers), tell people that taxes are the reason they aren’t making progress and Fox News reinforces that. Now you have a whole segment of the population that are bitter and believe that high taxes and illegal immigration and government are the causes of their problems when they are not.
So now, someone runs for office and there are a bunch of people pissed off and scared of the monsters under their beds. This person acts angry and validates the fears of the monsters under the beds. That’s NOT leadership. That’s jumping the line.
Are there monsters under your bed? Go check, I’ll wait. A Leader says, yes, I get that you’re afraid, but come with me I’ll show you the monsters under your bed don’t exist. If you are still afraid that is okay, I’ll leave a light on for you. Would you like a hug? But Leaders don’t run on “Holy Shit! jihadi Muslim Terrorists are going to kill us all unless we prevent Mexicans who want to have a better life from getting into the country.