Charismatic Leadership...Do We Really Want It?

Charismatic Leaders…Do We Really Need Them, Or Want Them?

In politics these days it seems that we’re always looking for that charismatic leader who can charm the pants off an audience. That person who can stand up in front of a crowd of people, feel their pulse, and get them to sing in harmony, in rhythm, and to feel good about doing it…all at the same time. In the past half century we’ve seen several examples of what I’m talking about, starting with Jack Kennedy in the early sixties. In the wake of his assassination, brother Bobby was picking up the slack right nicely until somebody gunned him down.

From The Kennedy’s To Ronald Reagan
The Kennedy’s were followed by a collection of less than charismatic leaders until we hit the 1980 election when, whether you approved of him or not, Ronald Reagan became a national political icon, the great communicator, the Republican with enough charisma to win lots of Democratic votes, and in the wake he became the ideal of every Republican politician since he left office in 1988.

And Then Came Clinton
Then in the 1992 along came a guy named Bill Clinton who was as charming as Reagan. He strode onto the international stage, stealing the show from a dull Bush I, and then from a droll Bob Dole. And despite his administration being undermined from the very get go by right wing nutcakes like Rush Limbaugh and Rupert Murdoch, Bill Clinton’s eight year term in office was very pleasing in the eyes of many Americans, and his many admirers around the world…because of his charisma.

The Current Charismatic Depression
We’re currently in a charismatic depression after Karl Rove and company helped John Kerry to self-destruct, decompose, and disappear leaving us with another four years of George W. But charismatic George W is not. In fact he often times has a hard time making sense of the English language, and is famous for addressing crowds that have been well vetted before they are allowed to listen to W’s drivel, and then cheer wildly for each confused and incomplete sentence. And now there’s a guy named Barak Obama who has climbed on the Democrats horse and is threatening to become our nation’s first black President…because of his charisma.

An Exercise In Avoiding The Responsibilities Of Citizenship?
But my real question is as follows. Why do we want charismatic leaders anyway? Why do we think we need a charismatic leader? And what does that longing for leadership have to say Americans anyway? Does it reflect a lack of self confidence? Does it say something about our own insecurities? Does it say something about our need to be told what to do and when to do it, by someone other than ourselves?

And to what degree is it an exercise in avoiding the responsibilities of democratic citizenship, while expecting someone else…like that guy with all the charisma, to move the masses, and carry the load on our behalf while we occupy ourselves with more important issues like professional sports, gourmet food, or which movie star or rock and roll singer is sleeping with whom, as reported in the National Enquirer, or People Magazine, USA Today, or the hottest talk (gossip) radio show in town.

But The Better You Know Yourself…
My contention is that the better you know yourself, and the more you’ve been willing to wrestle with your own demons, over and over again, the more confident, the more self assured, and comfortable you will be with YOU. And the more comfortable you are with your own well-earned conclusions, and the less important any leader, even a charismatic one, becomes.

The More You’ll Lead Yourself…
Under these circumstances, you’re effectively your own leader. You trust in yourself, and you think for yourself. To do anything less would be self-destructive. You have absolutely no need to have anyone else tell you what to do, or what to think about your own life…thank you. As a matter of fact, when and if someone else is presumptuous enough to presume that you need their advice and direction, even though you asked them for nothing, they’ve crossed the line of mutual respect. And the minute that mutual respect is ignored, conflict has walked in the door.

So I Say To Hell With The Charismatic Leader
I suggest that the job of a real leader is to build a stronger, more clear thinking, understanding, and empathetic nation that’s full of independent minded people who are perfectly capable of thinking for themselves, directing their own traffic, and who have absolutely no need for any charismatic leader to tell them anything. Instead let’s find representatives who know and understand how to systematically produce a nation full of justice, freedom, democracy, peace, and prosperity for everyone, and in the process, how to underwrite a true government of the people, by the people, and for the people, and then vote them into office to represent us....not to lead us.

Sheep Need Border Collies, But…
In short, sheep need border collies to move from one grazing spot to another. But real, live, thinking humans do not. So, in simplest terms, are you a sheep in human skin who needs a charismatic border collie to motivate and move you? Or are you a full blown human who is perfectly willing and able to wrestle with his own demons, to win the right to draw your own conclusions, and to ignore the charismatic border collie despite what that old dog may think? The choice, as they say, is yours to make.