“Disadvantaged” is a rather new word used to describe all sorts of handicaps. Children are physically disadvantaged if they lack a good diet or adequate clothing. They are intellectually disadvantaged if they are not academically stimulated, or culturally disadvantaged if they are handicapped by home or neighborhood problems.
Perhaps it is even more of a handicap if they are psychologically disadvantaged by a lack of good leaders and heroes. This handicap strikes across the board at young people of all economic classes.
One of the saddest side effects of the Vietnam/Watergate era is that it left a whole generation psychologically disadvantaged for lack of heroes. While our POWs were truly heroic, it was almost impossible to become a national hero of an unpopular war. Then Watergate wiped out our confidence in political leaders. In times when the generation gap has separated children from parents anyway, where are the role-models to fill that vacuum?
Yet the hunger for heroes remains. I think the real explanation for the surprise box office success of such movies as STAR WARS and ROCKY is the natural desire of young people to admire those who set a goal, fight hard, and win over great odds.
By their heavy concentration on political news, the media have given the American people an unrealistic expectation that heroes should be sought in public office. Actually, that is the least likely place to look.
The generation that was disillusioned by Vietnam and Watergate will simply have to develop its own leaders. That’s not an impossible task because great leaders are not appointed to their leadership role by a special messenger from God or the good fortune of distinguished birth. Most leaders are ordinary people who made the decision within themselves to accept the responsibility and to pay the painful price that leadership demands.
My definition of a leader is an ordinary person who accepts the responsibility to complete a job that requires the cooperation of other people. It requires a certain combination of skills that can be developed by practice.
A leader must have the virtue of Loyalty — to God, to country, to moral law, and to his followers. He starts with the conviction that God is in His Heaven and that America is the greatest country in the world.
A leader must have Enthusiasm. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”
The keystone of the whole design is that a leader must Accept responsibility. He must make decisions, not be a buckpasser. This is not a talent of intellect but an achievement of will.
A leader must have infinite capacity for Detail and follow through. As Michelangelo once said, “Trifles make perfection, but perfection is no trifle.”
A leader makes Efficient use of his time. He organizes his mind, his day, his week, his year. He can cope with the pressure of deadlines.
A leader must be Resolute. He cannot be dismayed by the heartaches and heartbreaks he encounters. That is the penalty of leadership and its badge of honor.
A leader must have a Sense of humor. He doesn’t have to be always happy, but he must remain cheerful.
A leader must seek, not avoid, Hard work. Opportunities are everywhere, but they are disguised as hard work and that’s why most people don’t recognize them.
A leader must Itemize duties and delegate tasks. He must motivate the cooperation of other people.
Finally, a leader must have Perseverance. The national problems we face have no instant cures; a leader must gear for the long haul.
A nation that truly practices self-government must seek not one leader, but many leaders, in different fields. The generation that did not inherit any leaders must develop its own. I’m confident they can.
