Bravery in leadership can often mean acting rather than waiting for others. It also has matters of degree in whether or not leadership puts yourself at risk.
Two quotes I have always looked to are :
“Let not any one pacify his conscience by the delusion that he can do no harm if he takes no part, and forms no opinion.
Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing.”
~ John Stuart Mill
And:
First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
~ Martin Niemoller
So, in the most powerful form, acting is brave if we choose to put ourselves (or in psychological terms, our identity) at risk.
In other forms, there are things we can do that have little or no risk.
Each person has their own way to choose to take action, how much risk they are willing to take.
In a small way, people have taken action by speaking out against President Trump during his visit to the UK, by marching and otherwise speaking out.
It is not too far-fetched in current times to imagine a time where even to march in the USA or UK would be to put ourselves at risk. In countries close to the UK, this is already the case in recent times, a protest against a sitting President in countries such as Hungary, Turkey and others would be stopped and people would be arrested and imprisoned (and yet our leaders in the UK don’t get involved, and in fact kowtowed to President Erdogan when he recently visited the UK).
Sorry, giving real examples, the world situation is very real, we each have choices to make to stand up or to sit by.
We can march (for now). We also each, as adults, have a vote, and we can exercise that without risk. It is a precious right, and I hope in the USA the momentum from the Parkland massacre, from ICE and other events and initiatives do “get out the vote”
However, as to putting one’s own self, one’s identity, perhaps one’s livelihood at risk, a small example.
Consider the recent press conference in the UK where President Trump denigrated CNN, called them fake news, not a real news network, and point blank refused to take their questions.
Leadership could have been all the other journalists present showing solidarity and a) refusing to ask questions, and perhaps b) walking out of the press conference. Instead, what we saw was Fox News, the beneficiary of the largesse of President Trump’s outburst, publicising this in a video tweet. Self-interest and showing true colours in a way that feels anathema to the brotherhood of the free press, and even the first amendment of the US constitution to which all journalists there must surely hold dear.
Oh, and after I drafted this post, I saw this tweet from the elder statesmen of the US press, Dan Rather.
When the President attacks freedom of the press, he is by definition attacking the Constitution – you know that document that forms the basis for the United States and he swore to uphold. Committing this act on foreign soil only adds to the disgrace.
— Dan Rather (@DanRather) July 14, 2018
Just watch this twenty-second clip. Yes, it really happened, as did the tweet afterwards by Fox news.
President @realDonaldTrump: "@CNN is fake news. I don't take questions from CNN." pic.twitter.com/HMT09CmLXz
— Fox News (@FoxNews) July 13, 2018
I am not looking to be political here, simply to illustrate choices made to lead or to follow, to act with integrity or not.
President Trump is always consistent and of integrity to who he is, so deserves credit for being that way. He always acts to type, he is brash, rude (the disrespect he showed in simply walking in front of Queen Elizabeth then compounding it by ignoring her…simply jaw-dropping that any man would do this to a woman, let alone the President to the Queen!), and he is a bully, pushing people around.
As a British subject, I was most disappointed that our Prime Minister allowed herself to be bullied at every turn.
Perhaps we could use more leaders like the fictional Andrew Shepard in “The American President”. When consistently bullied by the leader of the opposition (played brilliantly in creating a slimy and loathsome character by Gary Oldman), the President stood up, he took a risk, he stood up for what was right, his integrity, and that of the country.
This one piece of writing led to Aaron Sorkin writing the West Wing, to this date my favourite television ever.
Last week I marched with the Women’s March and that action made some noise, though that is all it was aiming to do. As a leader, also consider where you can lead where it is inconvenient, where it puts you out. Where can you be your own Andrew Shepard?
Enjoy this speech and watch the movie if you haven’t yet.
He closes this with some strong words. Oh, how I wish Trumps and Theresa May’s “15 minutes” were up and true statesmen and women would step up to lead.