To say that Washington, DC hasn’t really been known for the strength of its leadership for quite some time would be an understatement.
That being said, the move by the House Republicans to gut the independent ethics office under the disguise of “reform” is just another in a long line of laughable signs of “leadership” around the country over the last several years. Which forces any reasonable person to ask the question, “Are there really any leaders to be found these days?”
I only ask the question slightly tongue in cheek because over much of the past year, we have been flooded with a presidential election that was marred by one candidate that was almost unhinged in his daily condemnations of his opponents, putting down anything and everything, feeding the lowest impulses and urges of a group of citizens that the country hasn’t done a good job of talking to and listening to.
On the other side, we had a candidate that wrote off an entire part of the country in one fell swoop because their emotions were being stoked by a con man disguised as a political candidate, but never really asking…maybe their anger is misplaced, but the reasons they are angry are not?
All the while these two candidates were running for president we had every politician, “leader,” and “pundit” running to defend their candidate, define the other candidate as unfit, and destroy anyone that happened to have unquestioned loyalty to one side or the other.
That’s not really leadership.
Leadership, at its best, is the motivation for others to achieve something greater.
It isn’t always pretty and it isn’t always pleasant.
I think that is what people get wrong when they are confronted with real leadership like Nick Saban at the University of Alabama. There is no doubt that he is gruff and demanding, but the bigger point should always be the results.
Lately, leadership in America doesn’t look like a lot of real results.
It looks a lot like someone claiming credit for something they didn’t do. Or, claiming credit for something that didn’t really happen.
All the while, behind their backs they have their fingers crossed.