Iorek's Writing

Opinion - Leaders - Part I

By John Jarvis

2003-03-18

I always thought that it took a very strong, intelligent, educated person to lead a nation of such individuals. I mean, we're talking about a democracy, where everyone gets a say. It isn't a case of following a resistance leader, not because you think he's a saint, but because you've been horribly wronged, or worry that you will be in the near future, and anything is better than that. This isn't a case of a struggle to the top, where the victor knows violence and falls back on it in times of uncertainty. This is a case of a man coming to power because a lot of people thought he would lead his country well; not everyone, of course. In fact, probably the lowest percentage in a long time, if that election is any indication. That in itself seems strange to me; it's like he fell into the job. "I'm taking this and you're going to be O.K. with that."

But that aside, it's as if the man wasn't schooled... at all! He doesn't seem to have any concept of history, or the time and international effort that's gone into establishing this global foundation. Even Bush Sr. recognized the historic vision of [United Nations'] founders[, a] world in which freedom and respect for human rights find a home among all nations in his 1991 speech to Congress.

I don't claim to know as much history as I should, but I feel like I've forgotten more than Bush ever knew. I'm also sure that I've only heard a small portion of his positions on the important issues of our time, but again, what I have heard has truly disturbed me, as no other politician of my time has. I look for the maturity, the understanding of consequences, that I would with any adult - let alone the leader of a superpower! - and I don't feel that it's there. In the past, I've put it down to his attempt to speak to the lowest common denominator: the emotional language he uses, the repetition... I was going to say, his childlike classifications of right and wrong, good and evil, but that's where he really starts to worry me. Why? Because each day I'm more and more convinced that he really thinks that way. And that is almost too scary to contemplate. Then you're dealing with a situation where it doesn't matter whether you state all the facts clearly, you won't see any epiphanies. He knows the score, and still believes - truly believes - that he's right.

And I guess that brings me back to my initial thoughts: how could such a mind come to lead a nation with many, many great minds? This fanatical view of the world could not have been suppressed over his whole political career. And I know what everyone says about Texas, but really, this just seems so far-fetched. And now I look at myself, a person who's never been interested in politics and paid little attention to current events, and think, "You've taken it all for granted." I'm proud of Chretien's position, however long it took him to get there, and I now realize that I could just as easily be living under a government that I was far from proud of... Hell, that might get me killed. (Not to say that neighbours are safe from catching it in the teeth, of course.)

So I guess that's what I'm taking from this: I can't rely on "There are better people than me running this country" anymore. I've lived to see leaders of intelligent organizations and countries that I truly do not respect, and it's my responsibility to do what I can to make this opinion known.

More ranting on the lack of administrative memory...

I think a big part of the problem is that we think too much of ourselves. We believe we're the first to make the hard decisions, the first to live in really tough times... and that gives us the authority to do all sorts of stupid shit: like drown our kids in blonde, bony sex (sans nipples and bush) and bloody death, or stomping all over the world like the rest of 'em had shitty asses 'til we showed 'em their left hands.

This has (must have) happened many, many times before, and I know that lots of his precious Americans will die 5, 10, 20 years from now because of the ball he started rolling. I guarantee that they (can't remember if it was Truman or Eisenhower off the top of my head) had no idea that by trying so hard to appease France after WWII, and supporting their bid to reclaim their colonies in Vietnam, 10's of 1000's of Americans would be dying on foreign soil in the decades to come.

This shit's too complicated... It needs some kind of administrative memory... That's what bugs me the most: CNN, Bush, the whole lot make it seem so damn simple... Decapitate the f***er and we'll save the day!