Imperfect People

Submitted by Fay Voshell (United States), Mar 18, 2009 at 09:54

Thanks, Jennifer.

One of the most pernicious and insidious enemies of good leaders is the demand for perfect leaders.

I call such demands for Messianic righteousness the "politics of perfection." Very dangerous thinking! The worst leaders in history have been those who see themselves as Messianic saviors without flaws and without accountability.

The political climate is extremely vicious, unyielding and unforgiving of the human condition. "What do you believe and where do you stand?" is not the first question asked. The first question asked is "What things have you done wrong?" The relentless insistance on perfection is one reason why we have such weak leaders, as those with any decency, capacity for self-examination and common sense avoid the political scene altogether, leaving the stage to narcissitic scoundrels who refuse to examine their lives or sins--former Illinois governor Blagoyavich being a perfect case example.

Most decent people, knowing they are flawed, avoid the political scene, as they know they will be continually assaulted and possibly destroyed as every conceivable past sin, real or imagined, is paraded before the public.

I don't have exhaustive information about Benjamin Netanyahu, but from what I can discern, at least he appears unwilling to allow the piecemeal destruction of Israel the nation from within and from without. That is a good thing regardless of his imperfections and seemingly contradictory behavior.

Like all the rest of us, Netanyahu falls short. But the fact each one of us falls short of the ideals and moral standards we profess does not vitiate the ideals and moral standards themselves. Moral standards exist apart from our flaws and act as a continual encouragement to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and carry on the fight for truth and justice.

Fay Voshell

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