Heroes v. Modern Leaders
photo credit Unsplash
Does anyone else ever wonder why there seems to be so many disrespectful, hateful, rude, obnoxious people that are placed into positions of power? And why is there such a disconnect between the heroic efforts and leadership qualities that are universally praised in literature, movies, and other historical or fictional representation and the current real-life leaders that exhibit behaviours that wouldn’t even be tolerated in children. Why are we not demanding better from the people who should be setting an example?
As I have children, I understand that it is my responsibility as a parent to teach them respect, kindness, empathy, tolerance, honesty, and strength. These qualities are not liberal nor conservative, black nor white, male nor female, rich nor poor; they are universal characteristics that the majority of society deem sufficiently valuable, that they are taught to our children in homes, in schools, in neighbourhoods, in playgrounds, in sports fields, in places of worship, even in restaurants and stores. We watch movies where we cheer for the character that stands up to the bullies, that helps those that are weaker, that may not be perfect but is trying to do what is right, and all while behaving with kindness, respect, and empathy. How many heroes can you name in history or literature that their heroism was defined by their ability to mock those more unfortunate than themselves, to bully those that were different, to verbally harass anyone that disagrees with them. The hero may be flawed, but he/she is not mean.
Leaders, like heroes, are meant to lead those around them. To assess the environment, gather followers, make impartial decisions, and lead everyone to a mutually beneficial goal. They aren’t there to shout, to insult, to cause chaos, to lack any responsibility or accountability. So why do we afford people who gain leadership positions the benefits of those positions when their only goal is to destroy decency? We, the general public, should have more power to demand respect for our institutions as well as for ourselves. There is no need for name calling and disrespect. If you are in power, then behave responsibly. It isn’t that hard. Children are expected to behave and be respectful in school. Adults can and should do the same while setting a good example for all to follow. Besides an effective leader will only be one if he/she has the ability to achieve his/her goals. Disrespect, hate, and chaos will never achieve goals in the public interest because disrespect, hate, and chaos are not in the public interest. We root for heroes because they behave admirably even in difficult circumstances, we teach our children respect, kindness, empathy, tolerance, honesty, and strength because we value those qualities, and we shouldn’t have to explain to them why our leaders can’t also behave in the same way even though they are adults in positions of power. We must demand better from our leaders if we actually want to achieve a better world.
