Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Between Obama and apathy (written August 23, 2008)

It has been interesting these last months or even years to watch Barack Obama...I remember when he spoke at the Democratic convention in 2004 and it sounded so hopeful and visionary. Then the most unlikely thing happend four years later the guy actually has a decent shot at the presidency. One thing that is interesting is a social phenomena that when someone or something becomes popular many people that supported or liked it in the beginning now have lost all interest. So things that made Obama someone they would support are now the exact things that could lead them away from him. But this can obviously not be true. If Obama was inspiring then and had hopeful policies, then they dont become less hopeful just because he has gained popularity, unless he himself has undergone a fundamental change, which I do not believe to have happened.

However, this note is not supposed to be about my view upon the current election...I am sure ill at some point will want to say something about it, but for - now I not in the mood....even without CNN i think I have seen Obama's face so much to been able to establishe that he must have somewhere between 152.100 and 152.200 hairs on his head. And thanks to Rebba and Tannor I also have seen enough McCain footage.

But yeah the question that I had is ...if Obama is really such a positive influence...why is their such a sense of apathy....yes there are enough that have followed Obama like a rockstar....but there are so many that believe that whether it is McCain or Obama...there is not much difference to be detected in their lives.

Why is it that we expect little from out leaders? It reminds me of a story in the book "The Future of Freedom" about the Titanic:

"Of the many differences between the blockbuster movie Titanic and history, one in particular is telling. In the movie, as the ship is sinking, the first-class passengers scramble to climb into the small number of lifeboats. Only the determination of the hardy seamen, who use guns to keep the grasping plutocrats at bay, gets the women and children into the boats.

In fact, according to survivors' accounts, the "women and children first" convention was observed with almost no exception among the upper classes. The statistics make this plain. In first class, every child was saved, as were all but 5 (of 144) women, 3 of whom chose to die with their husbands. By contrast, 70 percent of the men in first class perished. In second class, which was also inhabited by rich professional types, 80 percent of the women were saved but 90 percent of the men drowned.

The men on the first-class list of the Titanic virtually made up the Forbes 400 of the time. John Jacob Astor, reputedly the richest man in America at the time, is said to have fought his way to a boat, put his wife in it, and then, refusing to take a seat, stepped back and waved her goodbye. Benjamin Guggenheim similarly declined a seat, yielding his place to a woman, asking only that she convey a message home: "Tell my wife... I played the game out straight and to the end. No woman shall be left aboard this ship because Ben Guggenheim was a coward." In other words, some of the most powerful men in the world adhered to an unwritten code of honor - even though it meant certain death.

The movie-makers altered the story for good reason:NO ONE WOULD BELIEVE IT TODAY. We have freed our upper classes of any sense of responsibility and they have happily reciprocated. In modern discourse they are just like any of us regular folk. We behave as if society is so democratic and dynamic that it doesn't actually have a governing elite. But IT DOES .

In the past when Leaders of society lived up to their ideals they were honored. When they did not it was a matter of deep disapointment. Today by contrast, we expect very little of those in postions of power, and they RARELY DISAPPOINT US.

Take a look across the globe (and for simplicity sake ill stick to political leaders).
- Start here in America: Without going into the details President Bush has the lowest approval rating of any president during my lifetime.
- In Europe. Gordon Brown is finding out that being a true leader is harder than it looks when you are on the outside looking in. Which is a lesson David Cameron might take note off. While at least not blaming the US for everything Sarkozy is not a leader that i would feel comfortable putting my trust in. In my own country of Holland the lack of true leaders that stand for something have led to some nutcracker politicians winning a lot of support.
- Putin or Putin Jr in Russia are not the leaders I would trust to sincerely care for the good of the whole world.
- Mbeki is a sham of the leader Mandela was, Hu Jintao and other Chinese leaders are hard to get a hold off, but I am clear that their policies do not seem to care about the well being of peoples of all worldviews, or for the benefit of peoples that cant speak for themselves both inside and outside their nation.
-Middle East....has its dictators (unfortunately almost always US-backed)...it has the wonderful Israelis where since Rabin there does not seem to be a single one that at least to some extent can see that Palestinians might have some title to the piece of land on the Eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea.....and Palestinian leaders that lack legitimacy and join many counter parts in being seen as corrupt.....Then we have the wonderful Ahmadinejad....who is so full of hate ...
Latin America....well let me stop after Chavez....I know that some people who don't like Uncle George opt for the kind of leaders like Chavez....but is this really the kind of leaders you want to follow...really?
The list is much longer...but inspiring....nah....trustworthy.....not after they tell lies after lies...hopeful...ehmm didnt think so...

Is it then surpising that so many people have decided no longer to place their hope and trust in leaders....or for that matter that Obama's of no longer the same politics seems so refreshing to at least part of the populus who though beaten down hasnt given up hope yet...

But yeah to all of us that so want to be in leadership position and lead, whatever the capacity may be...remember it might mean staying on a sinking ship...following in the footsteps of great leaders that went before us. Martin Luther King Jr, Gandhi, JFK, Oscar Romero who all like Moses did not see the promised land. Or like Mandela and Aung San Suu Kyi to have your liberty taking away knowing that their blessed positions of power also gave them the SOLEMN DUTY to do what is just and right.

adittional comments:

I am with some of you who do not desire to be in leadership positions....Quite frankly I am not sure how could a leader I would be. I think the only leader that I might be is a serving leader.....However my desire not to be a leader doesnt mean that I am not supposed to be supporting or even leading fellow human being ...Like Recker said...the setting of an example...I believe we are always setting examples....and in that way ...no it is not a official position of leadersship..but peoples eyes are there...and it has often surprised me to waht a great extent people take other peoples examples to heart...examples that the people themselves might not have even given a thought...

My point here wasnt either use the examples of our leaders as an excuse....because no matter how pathetic our leaders are...that doesnt free us from giving right examples ourselves..

I agree with Akaose to a certain extent that many farmers forgot their past once they became kings...I think it is very important to set boundaries...especially in pursuit of some higher positions....say i desire to become a lawyer....well if that pursuit is on top of my list before anything else then what might happen is that in order to achieve my goal i end up using people to get there....if i instead start off with the notion that I will treat all people with human dignity then in me trying to become a lawyer I will stick within those boundaries...as leaders we need boundaries..or morals or whatever you will call them...I think the serving one...although pretty general is one that should be on top of the list....... Magpatuloy sa Pagbasa
In fact some of the strongest examples of leadership have been given by people that did not desire to be leaders...but decided to serve their fellow human beings...

I dont think we should desire our leaders to be perfect...Lord knows how dark my own heart is....how could i expect my leaders then to be perfect, however, is it too much to ask them to be honest? to ask them to indeed work for those things that they promised in their campaign trail?

I guess as people it is of immense importance to also give support to out leaders...to actually want to see them to do well...instead of waiting for the next mistake so we can cut the roots from underneath them....thats why I have such a hard time with all this negative politics stuff...because what does it tell me nothing...it only tells me that so and so is not fit..it doesnt tell me anything about the candidate himself....If B says that A is not fit....wonderful...but does A not being fit (in the opinion of B) make B fit him/herself?... Magpatuloy sa Pagbasa
Our support should be there for our leaders...if we disagree we are obligated to challenge them...however, if we truly want change we should not only push for better leadership, but also for better followership. Like I have said many times before. I am not the biggest Bush fan, however, coming from Europe and even within the US it saddens me to see that some peoples goal in life seems to be to see Bush make another mistake.

True we can seriously question Bush's leadership, but at the same time we can seriously question our own followership.

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