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The Forum > Article Comments > Leadership - everyone talks about it but does nothing about it > Comments

Leadership - everyone talks about it but does nothing about it : Comments

By Sandra Kanck, published 3/11/2011

As a society we are no longer clear what it is we require of our leaders – the power of religious leaders has waned, and the meanings we inherited from our grandparents are not always relevant.

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Before I post my comment, I should declare my interest, in that I'm also a member of the same political party (Australian Democrats) as the author of the article. The article itself? Yes, I think that Sandra has touched on an important issue, in that contemporary politics tends to be very media and poll driven. A true leader will have the courage to do what is correct, irregardless of the polls. Last year I published a piece in Online Opinion which also touched on this issue. See: http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=10766
Posted by Dr James Page, Thursday, 3 November 2011 8:52:22 AM
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One criterion of leadership in a democratic society is the ability to get others to do your bidding without overt coercion. By that criterion the power of religious leaders has increased not waned. Cardinal Pell appears to have Tony Abbott in his pocket in regards to banning the morning after pill. With public schools starving for funds Gillard increases funding for chaplains in public schools (which seems to me outrageous in light of s. 116 of the Auatralian Constitution) and continues aid to religious schools. Howard turned the Cox Peninsula transmitter over to Christian Voice, initiated the chaplaincy program in the Commonwealth, overturned the the Rights of the Terminally Ill law in the Northern Territory and appointed a senior religious figure as governor-general. Religious leaders in an Australia with a increasingly irreligious general public seem to have the politicians doing their bidding. Their leadership is tremendously effective.
Posted by david f, Thursday, 3 November 2011 9:20:04 AM
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Why oh why do these people all want us to have leaders.

I'm quite capable of leasing myself thank you, & have absolutely no desire to be lead by anyone.

It is quite reasonable to say that Germany had excellent leadership in 1938. Hitler had led them out of depression, into a buoyant economic position, & a thriving society.

Fat lot of good that leadership did them. I am totally disinterested in being led by Sandra, or any one else. Most leadership is merely a response to pressure from some direction or other.

I want a government to manage, that's all. When the demand is high enough for some change, a manager will make it work. Leaders with vision are always going in the wrong direction. They tend to be too impressed with themselves, & their own brilliance.

Howard was a very good manager, it was only when he ventured into leadership that he stuffed up. He tried to lead us down a path to his vision of industrial relations, & was shown the door. Pity he didn't give us back our guns as he left. We may have to defend ourselves some day, & I can't throw rocks that far.
Posted by Hasbeen, Thursday, 3 November 2011 12:32:43 PM
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We now have a generation of leaders who have failed in their personal lives. No wonder the public performance lacks any morality. We now have a self righteous socialist conscience prevelant among our leaders. They fornicate, commit adultery, feast on porn and then want to be role models on the basis of their çoncern'for the environment. They are content for babies to be murdered while they pretend to be concerned for the poor and want wealth distribution (except their own). True leadership starts by being good fathers, mothers, faithful spouses. Many of todays political leaders are happy to sell out our nation to the socialism while on the pretense that they are the Saviours of the human race. Never before have we had such a self righteous bunch who deny the humility needed to ask for grace and mercy. If a man won't keep his word to his family he won't keep his word with the electorate. Our current Government is a clear exampleof that.
Posted by runner, Thursday, 3 November 2011 12:51:11 PM
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>>Desmond Tutu and Martin Luther King were not members of parliament...>>

So they never had to make the really hard yet mundane decisions such as how much money to allocate to health care versus defence versus education or whether to cut programs and leave people unemployed.

Tutu never had to make decisions which might result in people losing their jobs or getting killed.

That makes it a bit easier to be a saint.

Gadaffi's good buddy, Nelson Mandela, was mostly a figurehead president. Most of the running of the country was left to Thabo Mbeki.That made it easier for Mandela to keep his halo.

Howard, Rudd and Gillard may not have been saints but they had to make tough decisions knowing that whatever they decided there would be backseat drivers reviling them. I prefer them to any cardboard saints.

BTW whenever someone evokes Gandhi I always wonder who they mean. Do they mean the tough, wiley and somewhat ruthless Indian politician, the former Sgt. Major Mohandas K. Gandhi who played his part in the brutal suppresion of the Bamatho rebellion in South Africa in 1905?

Or do they mean the cardboard saint depicted in the eponymous movie?

BTW I am a great admirer of Gandhi. But I am talking about the actual human being, warts and all; not the mythical saint.
Posted by stevenlmeyer, Thursday, 3 November 2011 3:53:31 PM
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...Humanity demands leaders, Democracy allows critique!
Posted by diver dan, Thursday, 3 November 2011 9:31:23 PM
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"When nations are on a war footing, when its citizens are told the truth by their leaders of the peril that faces them, then asking people to work and walk together becomes possible."

Hang on, when did any politicians tell the truth around a war?

Did Churchill ever stop to explain why Britain was at war? Doubtful.

What the author refers to is the fear that comes during war/disaster making it easier to coerce people to do what the leaders want.

Many make sacrifices but those same people do not gain from it afterwards as a matter of course.

People are sheep, and can be herded more readily when scared, and it helps to be a Blue Heeler rather than a Daschund if you want to do the herding.

david f is correct about the immoral 'leadership' from the religions of the world.

Oh that they would decline to the point of departure!
Posted by The Blue Cross, Monday, 7 November 2011 9:07:26 AM
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