Dear Editor,
Recently on choosing a running mate and potential Vice President of the United States, Barrack Obama said impressively, “I need somebody who will challenge my thinking and not just be a `yes’ person especially on policy issues.”
Obama’s recognition of the need for considering opposed or different views is one of the more important hallmarks of an effective leader. And such an inclusive public pronouncement can only be a good sign. As President he will be told what he needs to know without fear or favour.
Far too many eager and ambitious politicians see loyalty to a leader as defined by a blind almost bestial devotion to all his or her ideas, intentions, statements and actions, however ill conceived, ill timed or potentially destructive they might be. In fact it often is the greatest disservice they could pay a leader as it discourages self analysis, critical review or the leader’s ability to think outside the box. This sheep instinct and its corresponding type of supine behaviour is often practised in political parties and the corporate world. It almost always guarantees a settled mediocrity especially at the level of the party or company’s overall performance.
Long, long ago around 450 ad Attila the Hun got it right when he said, “A king with chieftains who always agree with him reaps the counsel of mediocrity.”
If Barrack Obama is sincere in his encouragement of the dissenting view, and I have no reason to believe he is not, then the USA may be about to elect one of its greatest leaders and usher in an age of enlightenment. Of course there are no guarantees in politics as there are none in life. Sometimes with the intoxication of political office many a well-meaning leader has metamorphosed into a self-indulgent, opinionated autocrat. Often it begins with his being encircled by flatterers, sycophants and ciphers. Leadership thinking then takes on the form of studied inertia which gradually begins to show signs of cognitive deprivation.
Of course Obama is operating in a mature political environment which has taken the notions of stakeholder participation, active civic tradition and consensus building well beyond the narrow confines of a constitutional requirement.
And there is the larger question of values. Political authoritarianism, purposeful neglect of public opinion and the abhorrence of meaningful consultation have no place in American culture and political traditions. Sadly in some countries there still exists a political ‘T rex’ tradition and mentality which invokes a mystic reverence for the sovereignty of the leader, warts and all. Such societies are bound to stultify and be forced to endure endless cycles of political obscurantism.
The term ‘Machiavellian’ has a decidedly negative connotation, but some of what Machiavelli advised about the prudent use of power falls within the realm of good political and common sense. His treatise on Renais-sance statecraft counsels: “…there is no other way to guard yourself against flattery than by making men understand that telling you the truth will not offend you… He [a wise leader] should conduct himself is such a manner that all will realize that the more freely they speak the more they will be acceptable to him…”
I think that instinctively Barrack Obama understands this. He is off to a good start.
Yours faithfully,
F. Hamley Case
