Greatness must be earned; it is not bestowed on any of us; it can not be achieved through deceit. While you may deceive some and achieve a temporary measure of success in the short term, history will not be so kind, and it will judge you on your true character, and you will forever be deemed an insignificant fraud.
There are those who believe themselves to be leaders but are too weak of character and too lazy to put the work in or acquire the knowledge required to be an effective leader. They boast and brag but remain in the background in times of adversity and struggle. They shield themselves at the expense of those around them looking to take credit for success but deflect responsibility for failure. These are not true leaders rather they are cowards. Their actions inspiring nothing more than contempt from those they are tasked with leading and their tenure is ultimately doomed to fail.
Peter Parker (Spider Man) is famous for saying with great power comes great responsibility. Real leaders understand this, they stand by their people. They do not look to point fingers as a way of absolving themselves. They understand they must be willing to stand up and accept criticism. They immerse themselves in the job and work tirelessly to acquire the knowledge that is essential to be a successful leader. They willingly listen to others and heed their advice. They lead by motivation not by fear, they inspire confidence by their actions. They understand that without these traits their leadership is simply an illusion based on nothing more than bravado and arrogance.
The time for these individuals is usually short and once their time has passed history will record that their tenure as a so-called leader was nothing but an illusion. Leaving them with nothing but time to wonder how they could have been a real leader rather than coward.
It is far easier to hide behind lies and cry that you are being targeted by conspiracies, the deep state, fake news, etc., than it is to roll up your sleeves, immerse yourself in your job, and obtain the knowledge needed to govern correctly. Unfortunately, Americans have a President who has chosen the easy path. As a result, 160,000 Americans have died, hundreds of thousands more have fallen ill, and millions have been laid off because of the COVID 19 virus. You would have been hard-pressed to believe four years ago that America would be so unprepared for this national health emergency. Still, it would have been almost unbelievable that since this pandemic exploded in the six months, there has not even been an effort to establish a national plan devised to combat it. Instead, we have a President willing not to give this the urgency it requires to bolster his re-election.
His dismissal of science and narcissistic belief in himself and his abilities fuel a delusional arrogance. He has consciously separated himself from the pain, and suffering Americans are suffering through. His unwillingness to accept feedback from medical professionals is nothing short of governmental malfeasance. Sadly, his mishandling of the COVID 19 pandemic is not where it stops with this President. There are so many aspects of his morally repugnant failed presidency that I could write about for days. Still, his fanning the flames of racism, his blatant disrespect for cultures, races, ethnic groups, religious groups, genders, and anything that looks, acts, and sound different from him is the most shameful of his actions as President of a country which has been built on its diversity. It should disqualify him from the prominent seat he holds today, as you cannot govern, reach, motivate, or lead the diverse people of this country if you can’t relate to their needs.
In addition to all these failures, his continual need to suppress freedom of speech by lashing out at a press that holds his words and actions accountable is unconscionable at best and un-American at worst. Individuals as far back as the founding fathers understood this when they saw the press be protected, understanding that when we allow any individual to undermine the media’s integrity to bolster their agenda purposely, we risk losing our democracy to the hands of tyranny, Americans have a right to expect more. We have allowed specific cable news networks to profit by echoing and spreading his lies and misinformation. They are dictating the mindset of a segment of society. COVID-19 is nothing but the flu; COVID-19 is a hoax, there is no need to wear a mask, Black Lives Matter is a terrorist organization looking to destroy our way of life, etc. In the Matrix, the Merovingian asked; Do you know why? It is a question that can be asked of much of his base. Do you know why you believe COVID-19 is a hoax? Why wearing a mask is unnecessary? Why Black Lives Matter is a terrorist organization? They would likely answer because they just know it or their constitutional right not to wear a mask. But as the Merovingian said, they think they know, or they believe it is their constitutional right, but they do not know. They think and do these things because they were told to believe and do so. Trump told them to, and FOX news repeated it, and they obeyed. They turn a blind eye to the truth, presidential incompetence, and even some of their own core beliefs because they have been told to.
But on November 3, 2020, we as Americans can begin to put a stop to this self-destructive behavior by remembering it not politicians who were meant to govern this country. It is not a news network that is intended to make our decisions for us. It is the will of the people, and the people face real issues and need real leaders with real answers working together to solve those issues. We as Americans can no longer allow the ego of one man to destroy our democracy from with-in. We can no longer allow one man to destroy our worldwide reputation as a world leader. We as Americans cannot afford to support failure just to proclaim “our” side won because our blind support for anyone almost ensures that in the end, we all lose.
It’s from a place of arrogance that a republic willingly embraces ignorance among it citizens and expects to thrive. It’s from that same place of arrogance that those citizens bestow leadership on and blindly follow those who peddle ignorance for their own personal gain and expects to survive.
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To lead by fear is not leadership. Fear is an illusion used by those who lack the basic traits required to truly be a leader and that illusion can only be maintained for so long. Because like a small child most people will wake up one day and realize, for one reason or another, that the boogeymen used by the so-called leader to scare them does not really exist and once that illusion is gone so too is the illusion of power that the supposed leader wields.
The real leader has it within them the ability to inspire rather than scare. The capacity to encourage rather than discourage. The vision to show others that change can be a good thing and should not be feared. That we should not look to impeded that which is different but instead seek it out so that we may tear down the walls that divide us and confidently moving forward rather than cowering behind a wall of fear.
The true leader leaves a legacy, one of integrity, intelligence and truth.
Flawed logic often leads to incorrect responses
It is those individuals who believe themselves to be leaders but are too lazy to acquire the knowledge required to effectively lead. Who remain in the background in times of adversity and struggle, shielding themselves at the expense of those around them instead pointing fingers at others. Those who look to take all the credit for success but deflect responsibility for failure are not leaders but rather cowards. Their actions inspire nothing more than contempt from those they are tasked with leading and their tenure is ultimately doomed to fail.
Great leaders understand as spider man once said with great power comes great responsibility. They stand by their people. They do not look to point fingers as a way of absolving themselves but understand that as the leader they must be willing to stand up and accept the criticism for each failure. They immerse themselves in the job understanding in all things knowledge is essential because without it their leadership is simply an illusion based on nothing more than bravado and arrogance.
The time for these individuals is usually short and once their time has passed and their chance to stand up and be a leader is forever lost history will record that their tenure to be nothing but a delusion of grandeur extinguished by a power far greater than they had hoped to ascend to, the power of the masses. Leaving them with nothing but time to wonder how they could have been a leader rather than coward.
The smart leader does not let their emotions rule the day; they do not act when their emotions run high. When it is expected that they act in an irrational manner the smart leader will take a step back and breath. They will allow their emotions to wane. For a smart leader understands when emotions are running high their judgment becomes clouded and their choices become flawed. They understand when emotions run high failure is almost assuredly a fait accompli. Instead the smart leader channels their emotions and focuses on the situation in front of them. It is only after they have reviewed the circumstances at hand and formulated a plan grounded in logic and reason rather than emotions will the smart leader move forward and when they do they will most assuredly seize the day.
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