Where Are Our Leaders?
Perhaps it’s too much to ask for another Ronald Reagan or John F. Kennedy – let alone Franklin Roosevelt. But where are the leaders of generations past?
Are Donald Trump, Joe Biden, and Kamala Harris the best we can do?
Where are the statesmen of principle? We’re left with politicians seeking fame or to satisfy their egos – and the problem is not only in the White House.
Do civic leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. even exist anymore?
The leading men and women of today are flaccid thinkers like Michael Moore or Robin DiAngelo.
The leaders of today stand in stark contrast with the leaders of yesteryear, which leads us to the simple and important question: What happened? Where did we go wrong? Today’s cultural trend-setters lack depth and intellectual weight. Gone are the songwriters writing folk tunes about civil rights and the threat of nuclear war.
Arguably, the most famous figure in today’s culture is pop singer Taylor Swift.
A leading indicator, to use an economist’s phrase, is the rampant antisemitism that erupted after Hamas attacked Israel, slaughtering, raping, and kidnapping civilians. Today’s “social justice” warriors have been taught that it’s hip to divide the world into two camps – “colonizers” and “oppressors.” They learned their lesson too well and find themselves siding with terrorists.
The intellectually flaccid Ta-Nehisi Coates, a leading man of letters in today’s debased cultural environment, suggested ” that if he had been born in Gaza, he might have participated in the October 7 Hamas attacks against Israel.”
Let’s contrast Coates with a true civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr., who declared, “When people criticize Zionists, they mean Jews. You’re talking anti-Semitism!”
Speaking of Dr. King, he gave one of the greatest speeches of the 20th century at the monument to America’s most eloquent 19th-century president. Is it too much to ask for another president who encourages Americans to nurture “the better angels of our nature”? Or a civil rights leader who dreams of a time when human beings will not be judged by the color of their skin?
Can anyone remember the last great speech a politician gave? When, in the recent past, has a U.S. president given an inauguration speech, and the public been galvanized?
I would challenge anybody to try to remember any of the speeches a politician has given from the past three or four presidential elections.
The most memorable moments from this past election cycle are Kamala Harris’ blunders, ranging from her fake accents to Joe Biden’s dismal debate performance to Trump’s famous “shimmy” dance, which athletes have begun to copy. A hundred years from now, historians will learn that Tim Walz was chosen as Harris’ running mate because he called Trump and J.D. Vance “weird.” They will learn that Trump’s response to Taylor Swift’s endorsement of the Democratic ticket was that he took to social media to declare, “I hate Taylor Swift.”
The only real leadership shown was when Trump was shot in Pennsylvania and rose to his feet and declared, “Fight! Fight! Fight!” as blood ran down his face.
That was a moment of true leadership and may be the event that propelled Trump back into the White House.
There was something singular about it. A reminder, for one thing, of how many events Trump has weathered – including his hush money trial – that would have ended past politicians’ careers.
It’s clear that the American people are searching for a leader, and something more. In our Manichean politics, there is no middle ground. We’re too polarized, for one thing. In the place of shared purpose, which our two major political parties actually don’t want, voters settled in 2024 for the next best thing: a leader who is authentic.
Is authenticity the first step toward statesmanship? We’re about to find out, and with the promise of the New Year and a new administration, we can all hope for the best.