What do you make of leaders like Boris Johnson or Donald Trump? I see a vacuous rampant ego; a narcissistic bully, without a moral compass. Yet I also see an almost total detachment from the calm, quiet workings of consciousness. Consciousness that should be at the helm. From the spiritual perspective, they are empty vessels.
"Nobody has done more for Christianity or for evangelicals or for religion itself than I have" - Donald Trump, 1 October 2021.
Can a group of people - a company, a nation - accomplish great things in the absence of an ego-driven leader? "When the best leader's work is done, the people say: 'We did it ourselves'." - Lao Tzu. True leadership should be invisible.
Biology provides the entitlement to give commands to others. We are hierarchic creatures; the Ladder of Authority stretches from the pinnacle of the pyramid to the bottom of its broad base. Over the millennia - and in particular over the past two centuries - the idea that might is right has given way to a more enlightened notion that a leader's key characteristic in a complex world should be intelligence.
But democracy is a two-edged sword; the poorly educated can look at a Trump or a Johnson and think "he is smart", and on that basis put their X in the box. Because they don't know what 'intelligent' looks like, a blustering ego shouting "vote for me, I'm clever, I know what I'm doing" louder than more modest candidates, have an edge in the democratic process. The more monstrous the ego, the less intelligent their supporters.
In a work or personal situation, it's easy to walk away from toxic people. They are no good to have around. It is said 'you join a firm, but leave a manager'. But how can you walk away from an elected leader that's clearly no good for your country or for you? The United States got itself together and pushed Trump out of the White House, the only president to lose two successive popular votes. The UK has to wait until December 2024 for a chance to remove from office the worst prime minister it has ever had (unless the Conservative Party remove Johnson before then, seeing him as a liability).
The notion of 'the hierarchy' vs 'the network' is more relevant than ever in a complex world. Our greatest challenge is dealing with climate change - which will require huge sacrifices in life style among the world's well-off. This in turn requires leadership by example - not flying private jets to get up north for a photo opportunity.
The free world will be distracted from this task by simultaneously dealing with two despots - Putin and Xi Jinping, who are using strident nationalism to bolster support. This does not look like it will end well.
Can the world's conscious community work together to steer us to a better direction? Meditations against ego-led despotism?
This time last year:
Trains and snowy days
"I wake up at five and queue for bread and soup"
Getting over this year's flu
This time four years ago:
War and the absence of war
This time six years ago:
Sensitivity to spiritual evolution
This time seven years ago:
75th anniversary of Stalin's deportations of Poles
This time eight years ago:
Peak Car (in western Europe at least)
This time eight years ago:
Pavement for Karczunkowska NOW!
[I still have to walk through mud or snow dodge speeding drivers!]
This time ten years ago:
Until the Vistula freezes over
This time 11 years ago:
Of sunshine, birdsong and wet socks
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1 comment:
At least Americans get to elect their leader. In the UK we elect a party that chooses whoever best serves its own interest. Hence there's value (to them) in the uneducated who can't and won't see through the hubris. Years ago a proportion of our leaders were former military officers who had learned that "to lead, one must serve". Whereas the concept of "political leadership" today is toxic. Johnson has lowered the bar practically to subterranean levels, but who is waiting in the wings to raise it?
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