Large Fierce Mammal

If only it was that easy.

The expulsion of evils, from being occasional, tends to become periodic. It comes to be thought desirable to have a general riddance of evil spirits at fixed times, usually once a year, in order that the people may make a fresh start in life, freed from all the malignant influences which have been long accumulating about them. ~ Sir James George Frazer (1854–1941); The Golden Bough, Chapter 3. The Periodic Expulsion of Evils. 1922

An excellent bit of enlightenment from Sir Frazer, and while we don’t do it annually, 2015 is an election year in Canada – a good time to start a new series on Leadership. If you come here even semi-regularly, you’ll know none of this is uttered because I hold a sliver of hope for enlightening or redeeming any politician or bureaucrat. That sort has long since convinced themselves they’re right about everything, and even if they’re wrong, spinning that wrongness into rightness by redefining what’s right is right, right?

Wrong, and there’s only one flavour of it.

I’ve long found it irksome to hear elected political officials referred to as “leaders”. To my mind, whether I approve of the person holding the office or not, the Prime Minister of Canada is no more my personal leader than would be the CEO of a corporation in which I was a share holder; so when I hear about a summit meeting somewhere that’s to be attended by “world leaders”, it never fails to make me snort in derision.

At the present time, we are sitting atop a ticking time bomb, waiting for the right combination of Natural pushback, economic dishevelment, and blatant social disparity to trigger the avalanche. Whether or not it can be averted, or if any or all of us get swept away in it, will not be decided by wringing hands while “world leaders” meet to dole out the life boats among the chosen few deemed most important to the “world economy”. We cannot look to politicians to “lead us” out of anything, and the kinds of events I’ve been observing over the past twelve months alone have only confirmed my belief that the really big threats to this planet and everything on it will need to be solved in spite of the way governments currently operate.

I hold that the survival of Humans as a species – of Man, the animal I mean – is, and always has been, born of our adaptability.

“Man has a large and highly adaptive brain – nearly as smart as a Crow – along with this pesky opposable thumb – one on each side unless you’ve gone through life being called “Lefty”. We Man critters can imagine and build solutions to problems that Nature didn’t give us the speed, wings, teeth, fur, claws, armor, sense of smell, or eyesight to solve otherwise.” ~ Worldly Wisdom Wednesday – Archaic Revival

In every age, in every culture, Human societies have understood Leadership, for this principle is an adaptation in its own right that gives the better Led an edge against all dangers. Yet in this ever so “enlightened” and “evolved” age, one who would put his or her name forward to become “leader” of a nation need offer little more than a “clean” criminal record, a reasonable university transcript, well concealed closet skeletons, and a good sales pitch to qualify for the label. By its True Natural meaning, Leader is decidedly NOT merely a label.

So, Goode Reader, as we go forward together I will be delving deeply into the True Nature of Leadership, and as usual, I sincerely invite your spirited involvement by way of comments on what you read.