DIYbanter - View Single Post - OT - Republicans ban Sesame Street

wrote:

Our government wa ssupposed to be about leadership, somewhere along the
line they decided control was more in their interests.

Yup. That's the way it works.

Consider any of the following conversations, which each of us has
heard countless times:

A mother speaking to her young son:
"Johnny, please stop doing that"
"Johnny, I said I want you to stop that"
"Johnny! Stop that right now!"
"If you don't stop that right now, I'm going to send you to your room
without dinner!"

A boss talking to an employee:
"I think we should do it this way, not that"
"Yes, I know you disagree; but this is the way I want it done."
"I don't care what you think, just do it this way"
"Either do it my way, or go find another job."

A civil rights leader (time lapse) talking in public
"I wish people would all understand how offensive certain words can be,
and would be sensitive enough not to use them"
"I'm really offended by some of the words people use"
"I'm going to sue the next person who calls me one of those words."
"I'm going to start a movement, to pass a law, to make it illegal to use
words that offend me. And then anyone who uses those words will be
prosecuted and sent to prison."

And, of course, there are too many examples to choose from in the
world of politics and elected officials.

Leadership is hard. It takes intelligence, work, and a willingness
to know something about the people you're trying to lead. It also puts
constraints on where you're going to lead people to. If the destination
makes sense only to you, then there won't be anybody following along.

Control, on the other hand, is the easiest thing in the world, as
long as you're well enough armed.

As long as we continue to elect people on the basis of whether they
promise to give each of us, personally and individually, whatever it is
we want, and as long as we attempt to use our political processes to
achieve our own little bits of power and control, we'll ALWAYS get
control freaks and power mongers, and never EVER get leaders. It's the
path of least resistance, the least common denominator, and the entropic
tendency toward chaos and disorder, all rolled into one big mess.

An interesting thing to reflect on, considering what holiday the US
just finished celebrating.

KG