We know from history and experience that leaders make mistakes and aren’t perfect. Leaders are, however, held to higher standards for judgment and behavior than followers. They’re expected to lead by example. That’s why we think Christian pastors should be more Christ-like than parishioners, fathers more mature than sons, and cops braver and more law-abiding than John Doe.
Clichés about leadership abound, but what are the characteristics of followers? One is tolerance for the leader’s mistakes and bad behavior. They recognize their leader “is only human” and that “no one is perfect.” These followers support their leader and wait out his or her personal storms. “The sun will come out tomorrow,” they sing.
But do followers have responsibilities? What are the limits to tolerance? We might excuse a cop who fell asleep on the job once – or maybe even twice – but would we excuse him if he trades writing a ticket for oral sex? Would it be okay if “our” cop did that if the cop one town over did it too?
One logical answer is “yes.” It may not be a responsible answer, but if “everybody does it” works for you, then you’ve approved a new cultural, civic, and ultimately legal norm. By all means, support your local police, and go along to get along.
Logic breaks down, though, when followers condemn the cop in the next town over but tolerate – and expect you to tolerate – their own cop’s oral adventures. And then things can get really confusing when investigations show that Cop #1 focuses on elitist Prius drivers while Cop #2 targets drivers of F10 pickup trucks. It doesn’t matter that the F10 costs $20,000 more than the Prius, ‘cuz by golly, it’s class warfare. Is there a solution to the problem?
I suppose you could close down both police departments and spend the hiatus screaming at each other.
The best leaders are ones who unite followers behind a Common Good. But leaders are only as good as their followers. Marcus Aurelias has excellent advice for both of them. “Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be,” he said. “Be one.”
Well said, and true.
Good job. If you haven’t already, you might want to read Christa Hedrick’s latest e post on What Now. She lays it out for the Trump supporters who wonder why liberals consider them ‘stupid.’ If I wrote a political piece for the STANDARD, even tho’ my column is on the “editorial” page, Joe May would likely tell me bye-bye.