Here's the tricky part: the president sometimes has to use the power that he has. And nobody really likes that. Nobody who understands it, anyway.
As a kid, there was a gully that ran beside our house. It had been washed out by the rain, leaving a pool at the bottom of a six-foot face. Once, I held a piece of cinderblock in my hand, imagining the bombardiers of World War Two lining up their sights on an enemy target, and released my payload over an unsuspecting toad. I crushed the toad, and in the worst possible way. He didn't die instantly, but was left sprawling in agony, mostly mangled, feeling his life ooze out into the afternon sun. I felt immediately sick. I was struck by the pointlessness of the death and was relieved of any pleasure I may have been feeling beforehand.
We produce guns and armies and bombs because bad people will not respond to words. Guns and bombs will always hurt, and we always regret using them. However, when they must be used, our president must have the will to do so. Jimmy Carter is a great man, whom I admire. I think however, that he lacked the will to hurt people.
It isn't enough to be a good guy. Or a nice guy. History will judge harshly the leader who lacks the will to bear a sword. Real leadership is knowing when to draw your weapon, and being willing to do so.
That's one of the reasons there are so few real leaders.
As a kid, there was a gully that ran beside our house. It had been washed out by the rain, leaving a pool at the bottom of a six-foot face. Once, I held a piece of cinderblock in my hand, imagining the bombardiers of World War Two lining up their sights on an enemy target, and released my payload over an unsuspecting toad. I crushed the toad, and in the worst possible way. He didn't die instantly, but was left sprawling in agony, mostly mangled, feeling his life ooze out into the afternon sun. I felt immediately sick. I was struck by the pointlessness of the death and was relieved of any pleasure I may have been feeling beforehand.
We produce guns and armies and bombs because bad people will not respond to words. Guns and bombs will always hurt, and we always regret using them. However, when they must be used, our president must have the will to do so. Jimmy Carter is a great man, whom I admire. I think however, that he lacked the will to hurt people.
It isn't enough to be a good guy. Or a nice guy. History will judge harshly the leader who lacks the will to bear a sword. Real leadership is knowing when to draw your weapon, and being willing to do so.
That's one of the reasons there are so few real leaders.
2 comments:
I think history will also judge harshly the leader who bears his sword without provocation, though.
People are so quick to jump on Bush for invading Iraq. If I recall correctly he had to have the approval of congress before troops were sent over there. I read an article in the New York Times that used the following: "that's when Bush invaded Iraq." I pictured President Bush storming into Iraq from the Persian Gulf with guns blazing all by himself. We are entering a pivotal point in the history of the world. It's time for people to start looking for ways to improve our situation rather than looking for someone to blame for events that have already happened.
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