For this initial post, I would like to give a recap (of sorts) of the first class. Inspiration really struck me, and I felt as though I was able to form some basic thoughts about leadership, how it can be defined, and how I personally think of it. I did not write down any cues from the discussion itself, so I don’t have much to go off on except my own memory and notes – we’ll see how this goes / let’s hope this all makes some sense.
As President Barron was telling us about the paper topics and how they could be up to our interpretation and creative liberty, the first phrase I wrote was “the limit indeed exists.” I wrote this in regards to my feelings that, especially for colonial leaders and the Presidents adorning Mount Rushmore, there is a common and fundamental flaw in not only the understanding of the idea of leadership but also the implementation of said leadership. In my opinion, the leaders on Mount Rushmore made deliberate choices that were independent of fate, and these decisions were carried out with two purposes in mind. The first purpose would be to further one group – in this case, it would be specifically white, wealthy, land-owning males. However, it could also be furthering an entity, like a business sector that, despite being destructive or exploitative, brought in a ton of cash. Simultaneously, many actions resulting from various leaders throughout history were put into effect with the motivation to destroy or oppress another group or entity. I do not think I need to go to great lengths to explain this or give any examples – I truly believe that we can all give an example in reference to this.
As I got to thinking about these two VERY basic yet underlying purposes of leadership decisions made by American historical leaders, it struck me that these men, despite some of the great work that they have done to build and form this nation, used exclusive political means to achieve the most historically influential ends. It was a perspective mainly formed by them and them only, with next to no difference of opinion or experience to help guide them. At times, I find myself questioning how the world would be had these choices not ever occurred in the first place, especially when it comes to environmental damage as well as the systematic destruction of Native peoples and their culture.
Is this really leadership then? At times devoid of morals and ethics in addition to an unwillingness to adhere to BASIC considerations of human rights and decency, but an adept sense for developing excellent strategy in times of chaos?
I don’t quite see it that way.
The critique and modern application of ancient philosophical principles, the creation of the American political framework, and above-par battle strategy are all things that I admire in these men – but I cannot seem to get past the fact that these men were not there to really consider serving anyone who was not a white man. That, to me, is not what leadership is all about. So then, with this in mind, what is leadership? Who exemplifies it? These are things I hope to discover in this class, and hopefully we can foster some great discussions to come to terms with what leadership means for each of us.
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