Welcome to the thoughts that wash up on the sandy beaches on my mind. Paddling is encouraged.. but watch out for the sharks.
Sunday, July 01, 2018
"There are many qualities desirable in a political leader that should matter more than the criterion of strength, one better suited to judging weightlifters or long-distance runners."
Strength is an ambiguous word, though. We can use it to refer to different qualities in a person -- even different physical qualities! One person might be a strong sprinter, but another a strong endurance runner. A person can have a strong character, or their personality can convey authority and leadership. People DO want strength in leaders -- whether its moral strength like Gandhi or inspirational strength like Churchill -- but that desire is sometimes expressed in the most vulgar way, as it is now in DC.
@ Stephen: By 'strength' the author meant 'a leader who concentrates a lot of power in his/her own hands, dominates both a wide swath of public policy and the political party to which they belong and takes the big decisions'.
So basically the more personal power they have/take and the more they use this power without reference to others the 'stronger' they are often perceived to be....
terse and true...
ReplyDeleteStrength is an ambiguous word, though. We can use it to refer to different qualities in a person -- even different physical qualities! One person might be a strong sprinter, but another a strong endurance runner. A person can have a strong character, or their personality can convey authority and leadership. People DO want strength in leaders -- whether its moral strength like Gandhi or inspirational strength like Churchill -- but that desire is sometimes expressed in the most vulgar way, as it is now in DC.
ReplyDelete@ Stephen: By 'strength' the author meant 'a leader who concentrates a lot of power in his/her own hands, dominates both a wide swath of public policy and the political party to which they belong and takes the big decisions'.
ReplyDeleteSo basically the more personal power they have/take and the more they use this power without reference to others the 'stronger' they are often perceived to be....