Leadership in Crisis-Part 3

My thoughts on how we can become our own leaders

Photo by Miguel Bruna on Unsplash

In Part 2, I discussed the importance of taking personal responsibility for the state of our leadership, a responsibility that goes beyond voting. In conclusion, I suggested that we have to become our own leaders. But how the hell do we do that?

1. Inform ourselves.

Unfortunately, most people don’t have a lot of surplus time to study any complex issue, so they rely on mainstream media, two of the worst sources of blatant propaganda and outright misinformation. Social media and independent journalism offer so many alternative sources such as Scheerpost, the Gray Zone, Mint Press, Consortium News, Dialogue Works, Electronic Intifada, Diem25, Chris Hedges Report, to name only a few, that it can be a challenge to choose the ones that speak to you or to keep up with them all.

If we want real in-depth information, there is nothing like a good, well-researched and well-written book, and a public library full of them! But again, where do we start?

In addition to a shortage of time, another major obstacle in our search for the truth is government secrecy because, let’s face it, how badly do our leaders want us to know what they are really up to? And if we look to experts for quality information, there are experts on any side of an issue.

In the end, it all comes down to whom we trust, and how much time and effort we are prepared to invest. Ignorance may be bliss, but knowledge is power!

2. Think and question.

Thinking begins with questioning what we hear or read instead of passively lapping up every word of the prevailing narrative. This does not mean that we should become complete skeptics or cynics; it means that we should use our heads, as our mothers may have told us to do on various occasions. It means thinking things through critically and figuring out for ourselves what makes sense. It means trusting our instincts and our experiences. And it means admitting sometimes that we don’t know as much as we think we do; that we’ve been misled or are just plain wrong. We can always change our opinions. We can always re-think the way we see the world. No one is ever too old to learn. After all, learning and growing are what we are here for on this earth.

3. Talk to others and be open to differing opinions.

As I discussed in my essay, The New Normal, talking is something people don’t seem to do anymore. The more touchy the issue, such as Israel’s genocide in Gaza or the war in Ukraine, the more likely people are to pick one of two sides with the conversation erupting into arguing, name-calling, and friends turning into enemies. Instead of insisting on being right, we have to be open to the possibility that someone else might know something that we don’t or haven’t yet considered. We don’t learn or grow by shutting others down or confining ourselves to comfortable echo chambers; we grow by opening our ears and our minds, and by trying to see things from more than just one perspective.

4. Set realistic goals and take one fearless step at a time.

That paralyzing feeling of powerlessness is best overcome by accepting our realities and working within our limitations. The fastest way to burn out and sink into bottomless despair is by taking the weight of the world’s problems upon our shoulders or by aiming too high. As Dr. Gabor Maté stressed in his interview with Chris Hedges, we must not let ourselves be consumed to the point where an issue takes over our lives. Nevertheless, we can still be active and take care of ourselves at the same time. If we do not take care of ourselves, we will be no good to anyone, and “the quality of our activity will be impaired.”

We need to figure out what we can realistically do one fearless little step at a time. We should also give ourselves a pat on the back for doing something, be it participating in a protest, signing an online petition, publishing a poem or essay, or donating to an organization instead of beating ourselves up for not being able to do more.

Taking one step at a time may never change the world or cause the government to immediately freeze arms shipments to Israel, for instance, or force a negotiated settlement to end the conflict in Ukraine. But that one step combined with other small steps may move us in the right direction, in which case our expectations need to be as realistic as our goals.

Our actions, commitment and readiness to act just might encourage others to come forward, or at least make bystanders more aware of the issues. In the final analysis, what we do must be its own reward.

5. Do what you can easily do.

The one issue where we can do our part concerns climate change. During the first weeks of the pandemic lockdown, we all saw how air quality improved, and greenhouse gas emissions fell. Instead of waiting for governments to pass new laws and regulations, we can take the initiative by driving less and biking or walking more; consuming energy consciously; reusing, repurposing and recycling; converting to green or greener energy where possible; reducing waste and consumption; being mindful of our effect on the environment—the list of actions is long! If anyone argues that these measures are too impracticable and painful, well, then how painful do they think more severe and frequent heat domes, wildfires, hurricanes, prolonged drought, crop failures, etc. will be?

Other issues such as war, genocide, racism, poverty, education, health care, affordability are harder to tackle unless we belong to a particular group or organization or support them through financial donations.

6. Do what you do best

This is where you can put your talents to work. If you’re good at writing, write poems, essays, letters, articles and publish your work on social media like Substack. If you're musical, compose songs and sing in a choir. If you’re artistic, paint pictures, draw posters, design leaflets and signs; spray paint walls with eye-catching graphics and graffiti. If you’re a good speaking, give speeches and address public meetings. If you’re a good organizer and motivator, get things moving. We all have talents and abilities that we can employ at work, at home, in our free time to make the world a somewhat better place, community by community and, more importantly, by doing unto others as we would have them do unto us.

7. Voice opposition to bad laws and bad policies, and demand better.

This is the essence of participatory democracy: It is the squeaky wheel getting the grease. Look at how special interest lobby groups operate with the aid, naturally, of copious amounts of money, to see how powerful organized people can be. You might ask what good is writing letters, signing petitions, protesting and demonstrating when none of our leaders is listening to what the population thinks or wants. But then, what good does it do to say nothing? What good does it do to look back and wonder when it’s too late how bad things were allowed to happen?

8. Run for office, or work for quality candidates.

Stepping into the political ring is a tough choice. In my mid-twenties, I ran, unsuccessfully, as a pro-human rights, anti-nuclear candidate for city council in Saskatoon, so I know what you’re up against. (Which, incidentally, is why I chose another path.) We can easily say when we look at our current leadership that we would do things differently, but you never really know how you would act in a position of power. As they say, power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. So, would any of us be any different from our current leaders?

Still, someone has to come forward, and if it’s not me or you, then we can at least encourage and support a better candidate than what we might end up with otherwise.

Next: 5 more demanding ways to take personal responsibility and become our own leaders.

Feel free to add your own suggestions in the comments. The more the better!

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