I feel as though up to this point in class and in readings we've focused mainly on the personal aspect of civic and political engagement, in that we pose the question “what can I do”, and while I do feel that this is one of the most important questions we can ask ourselves in this context, I think it’s also important to appreciate the impact our leaders have on the engagement in our societies. In an ideal world, societies would be completely self sufficient in that communities would come together to assess and solve the issues that they face, but I believe this overlooks a major aspect of human psychology, in that for the most part people like to fit in, to be a part of a group, this instinct not to stray or get left behind, or in other terms: “to follow the leader”. From the “Neither Leaders nor Followers” reading that we did, we learned about the ironic disservice where a charismatic and successful or idolized leader ends up doing the most harm to their respective society.
While the statement is valid, in that usually the death of such great leaders, especially when still in power (such as JFK and FDR) causes and overwhelming sense of hopelessness or distraught, I don’t believe it’s fair to say that outweighs the contributions of their leadership. While yes it is the case that it would be much more beneficial for a society to be stable and self reliant, it is easy for people to forget about the issues that may not plague them, but still be widespread through out their society. Bringing these issues to light is not only the responsibility of a leader, its their success in creating a better society that we use as one of the criteria in determining their “greatness” or success as a leader.
By far the most important thing a leader can do is to use their position to bring awareness and change to social issues within their community. For example any issue would become more mainstream. Leaders have the ability to greatly inspire their community, especially as figures who are “idolized”. If they take up certain issues that they deem important than the citizens who view them with such high regard will either be swayed by their support, or compelled to do their own research. It is the responsibility of these leaders to use their positions of power to try to change the problems they see in society. By being in these positions of power these leaders also have more of an ability to make change. Especially in societies like ours, where this strong leadership can be used to bring about change and come together for change. For example when Obama takes a strong stance on an issue it becomes validated on a both national and interaction stage, his support makes the issues that my have once been overlooked serious topics up for national debate.
http://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_why_good_leaders_make_you_feel_safe#t-676473
Hi Sena,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your post regarding the role of leaders and their impact on society. I believe you're right regarding the need for leaders to point out issues, and guide society toward change. In this case, leaders are very important when it comes to facilitating the change we want to see in society. It is however important to realize that we cannot become too reliant on our leaders. When they disappear, we must be able to pick up where they left off. As well, something I think people often forget, is that these leaders are still human, and subject to failings. If we idolize them and use them as the personification of the issue, their own personal characteristic become the characteristics of the movement, If a leader of a movement is found to be a person with less than ideal "scruples", the movement can be derailed by peoples opinions of the leader.
Overall, I agree with your assessment and really enjoyed your post