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Leaders and leadership are not always the same

By Ray Kearney - posted Monday, 24 October 2011


Goldman Sachs envisioned a new form of commodities investment, a product for investors who wanted nothing more than to park a great deal of money somewhere, then sit back and watch that pile grow.

Throughout the 2005-2008/2010-crisis commodity prices skyrocketed e.g., wheat by 127% and rice by 170%. Over 40 million people starved and 150 million became poverty-stricken. Yes, Mr. Rudd, over a billion people remain hungry, while wealthy investors continue to reap obscene profits by gambling on the world's most vulnerable.

True leadership goes beyond shallow thinking, personal tastes and comfort zones. An effective leader understands and appreciates the need for sacrifice and service toward others. He is genuinely focused on helping others more than on helping himself.

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Good leaders are not dictators, bullies, browbeaters or oppressors but gain respect because of their character, commitment and concern for others. They are respected because they value and uphold the truth. Unprincipled leaders, the 'wolves in sheep's clothing' who lie, manipulate and creep by stealth - are unwanted!

Great leaders shun 'spin doctors' i.e., public relations professionals and bureaucrats who reinvent the truth to present their clients in the most flattering light. 'Spin' is cynically perceived as a form of propaganda: biased, manipulative and deceptive. In bureaucratic public relations, spin commonly implies disingenuous, deceptive and/or highly manipulative tactics to hoodwink the public of the truth. The rise of spin in government is a real problem for a democracy because its pernicious influence in political campaigns/conduct, advertising and corporate strategies masks transparency and provides the public with distorted information.

Washington officials avoid the term 'WMD' when describing U.S. weapons but instead use spin like "precision" cruise missiles and "smart" bombs as well as "depleted" uranium or "cluster" bombs and "agent orange" (dioxin). They lied to invade Iraq and now Afghanistan in unprovoked wars. The sole purpose is not for defence but to give U.S. hegemony - control or dominance over many nations. Where is our leadership that challenges such global covetousness and is a prime contributor to their numerous conflicts with other countries?

Where is our 'leadership' that allows the U.S. to bomb over 30 countries in unprovoked wars and topple numerous governments since WW2? Why does our 'leadership' believe a terrorist is someone who has a bomb but does not have an air force?

Something has benumbed our consciousness against the scandal that while "wanton destruction of towns, cities and villages" is a war crime, the unlawful bombing of cities from airplanes goes not only unpunished but is often perpetrated with very little accountability.

Who is the terrorist - the Iraqi hurler of shoes or the recipient, Bush? Is not the real terrorist the serial killer who, fabricated the Iraq war, massacred a multitude and legalized as well as ordered torture? Where is leadership to put right this upside-down justice?

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Why, it seems, are the powerful never judged?Is it a just world when, every minute, $US3 million are wasted on the military, while at the same time 15 children perish from hunger or preventable disease? The military industrial complex manufactures death and devours our resources. Yet the 'owners' of the world only condemn violence when it is exercised by others. Has lame leadership allowed common sense and justice to remain divorced from each other?

Where do we see leaders who can measure up and whose courage, conviction and determination can change history? Good leadership requires acting on principles for the ultimate common good, based on what is right, not what is expedient or delusional.

More than ever the world needs true leadership!

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About the Author

Dr Ray Kearney is Associate Professor in the Department of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, The University of Sydney and a community advocate for the installation of filtration systems in traffic tunnels to remove noxious exhaust pollution.

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Creative Commons LicenseThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

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