joy_mookerji Posted December 7, 2008 Share Posted December 7, 2008 "Unlike great thinkers and great artists, the most effective political leaders must often yield to public opinion and abandon principle for the sake of compromise." This statement highlights a critical point articulating the effectiveness of a political leader. It states political leaders should be pragmatic rather than pedantic or sanctimonious. They should abide by the general pulse of the people and let go principles and embrace opinion and traverse the path of democracy. In doing so it is quite possible for them to discard the morality and theories that were laid by his great predecessors. I am not positively inclined towards this ideology and my stake is on this is somewhat divided. I strongly agree that in some instances you cannot follow your ideology to the very alphabet; however it is the characteristic of great leaders to mould the mind of the people so that they follow the trend set by the leaders. With the ravages of time old principles get tarnished and it is necessary to give a proactive and practical coating on these principles. There are some ideas which are downright hypocrisy and the leaders must possess the acumen to understand the impact of these and act accordingly to avoid repetition of these mistakes. George Bernard Shaw once sarcastically said “Patriotism is a pernicious psychopathic form of idiocy”. He wanted to criticize sequacious followers of political leaders who indulge themselves in slavish impersonation. However the point, where I am discordant to this opinion is, on the extent of compromise required to lead the public. Does that imply political leaders should give up their ethics to its entirety in order to comply with the people? If that is the implication I strongly oppose it. Molding principles to meet the requirement of current economic and political situation is a pragmatic and proactive approach; giving up morality and ethics to meet them is a clear sign of imprudence and ineptness. When a critical political power is handed to an incumbent any false move or judgment will wreak havoc and the impact can cause both tangible and intangible repercussions. So it is a sign of imminent danger if political leaders are unscrupulous in executing the power entrusted upon them by voters and common people. I would like to conclude my opinion highlighting the fact that political leader differs from musician or artists in the fact that they have more responsibility to the society. They should refrain themselves from bigotry and be amicable and compliant towards the society that have chosen them to lead. They have to enact in a collateral and cognitive manner where as the artists and thinkers have the advantage to be more independent .Thus the political leaders have more responsibility towards the society they represent and have to be very ingenuous and prudent in their conduct. With great power comes great responsibility and it is this characteristics of leaders that sets them apart from the common man and make the nations great that is represented by these political savants. Thus to quote from Bernard Shaw again- “The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can't find them, make them”. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwiz Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 Nice work! If I were going to be really picky.... You may have articulated a definition of "effective political leaders" ... for all intensive purposes Fidel Castro and Saddam Hussein orchestrated extremely effective control over their populaces with very little compromise which undermines your argument. This could be avoided simply by outlining that you are discussing the role of politicians in a democratic/North American context. But really, it's great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joy_mookerji Posted January 7, 2009 Author Share Posted January 7, 2009 Right ho,the implications are abstract in my extract. Regards Joy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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