Journey
read, think, evolve
Volume 1 Number 3 April 29, 2000
Bully, executive who manages by intimidation, petty tyrant, tyrant, dictator, ...
What do they have in common?
For one thing, they suffer from severe inferiority complexes and have to grind others into the dirt in order to feel good about themselves.
Another thing I have noticed is that they tend to be goal orientated rather than journey orientated. Maybe it is the inferiority complex that drives them to focus on awards and other things associated with attaining a goal? (While the slave driver and her whip may get to where she is going, the slaves suffer and are ground into the dirt, and all have lost the joy of traveling through this world.) (Another problem is that, not only do tyrants often commit illegal, immoral and unethical acts, but they seem to have the knack for spinning rationalizations that justify it. (No matter how tempting it is to think otherwise, the means must be as noble and just as the end one seeks to achieve.))
Another problem I have noticed is that tyrants surround themselves with people who are dumber than they are, where true leaders surround themselves with people who are smarter than they are.
Why is it they keep rising to positions of power and how can we stop them from doing so in the future?
That's one of the most important dilemmas to be resolved in our evolution. Until they can no longer rise to power anywhere, we will continue to be dragged down and we may have no hope of avoiding extinction. (Not only will the journey continue to be more miserable than it would have been without the slave driver and her whip, but we will be no more and the human race's journey will have come to an end.) (Until we stop choosing leaders who are perverse, we have no hope for a future.)
Maybe the answer is identifying them and getting them psychological help?
This is another example of how we have to stamp out the concept of us and them. (In this case it is often a me and them, but the core dynamics are the same. The only difference is that there is only one of us instead of dozens, hundreds, thousands, millions, ....) (I suppose I am a hopeless romantic, but I think we can come together. (Today's paper talks about the growing nationalism in Europe, but I will continue to dream.))
Another thing I have noticed over the years is that tyrants and bad leaders are people who seek out leadership positions, and the people who are our truly great leaders are people who have leadership forced upon them. The problem is how do we change our system so that we start getting good leaders. (Tis sad that in this time when we so desperately need great leaders, we are stuck with a bunch of baboons who are owned by international corporations.)
Well, the people at List Power say I still have no readers signed up. (Not surprising considering how little traffic I have been getting.) (Oh well, I have always been one to keep writing despite not having any readers. (It feels like the right thing to do, but maybe I'm just being foolish?))
Time continues to run out and homelessness is fast approaching, so tis time to return to playing web master. (Building this site has been interesting, but it would sure be nice to focus on leaning new things and writing. (Oh well, I will be homeless soon and I will have lots of time to read and write.))