Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Desiring The Failure Of A Leader

Should we desire the political failure of a President of the US if we disagree with his policy? Is the following statement absolutely true?

It is wrong to endorse failure of the president because you don't like or agree politicallywith him. If he fails, our country does too.

The philosophy that success of a country is directly related to the success of it's leader is flawed. Similarly, the notion that the failure of a leader could never lead to the improvement (or, success) of the nation he leads is a false premise.

Consider the possibility that a citizen of North Korea might endorse the failure of President Kim Jong Il, and that his failure might result in the betterment of that nation.

I should think that someone in Iran might not like or agree with the policies of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. And, it could be that if Ahmadinejad were to fail, the country of Iran would experience success and prosperity.

In these scenarios, it is imaginable that the chief cause of the nation's success is solely the failure of the leader.

In all of this, it seems to me that we've lost sight of one of the most remarkable aspects of our form of government; namely, that it was set up to encourage political discourse. Those patriots in the Revolutionary war indeed had every hope in the failure of their pre-war leader. If there is no hope of the failure of your political opponent, what benefit is there in political parties, elections, or representative government?

I wonder when it became taboo to oppose the [political] success of a leader who, if successful, could be the cause of a country failing. Could it be possible that by the leader's [policies] failing the country avoids failure? Could it be possible that the [political] opposition to the leader is, by definition, the success of our nation (and it's political system). This seems especially to be the case in a democratic system of government.

My feelings about the success or failure of President Obama aside, I do not believe that his political success/failure and the country's success/failure are mutually inclusive. And I strongly believe that the government "of the people, by the people, and for the people" is not directly connected to the success or failure of its leader. It's bigger than any single leader's success or failure. Its virtue is precisely rooted in the freedom of the opposition to oppose.

1 comment:

Phill Grooms said...

I'm down with what you just said. You're free to agree and disagree with whatever you choose in politics and that is one of the many great things about how this country is set up.

You're also free to make polar statements over and over in order to boost ratings.

Then the polar opposite side is welcome to call the first party crazy and out of line.

Then I'm free to call it all ridiculous.

I constantly find myself, since the last election, trying not to be polarized to one side or the other. I try not to be blind to the arguments of the things I easily fall into believing. For when we find ourselves fully agreeing with everything in the media, we've ceased being smart, informed, and discerning citizens of The United States of America.

Like I said, I agree with what you said, but I'm not sure I like the extent our freedom of speech is being used at times. But, I don't have to like it.