Leadership (Lack Of)
May. 20th, 2020 01:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Boris Johnson, it transpires, isn't Winston Churchill after all. We waited for his "we'll fight them on the beaches" moment and it never came- and now is too late. He's kept a low profile through the lockdown and hasn't particularly impressed us on the few occasions he's faced the cameras. None of the ministers he's put up to front for him has turned out to be Winston Churchill either. And perhaps that kind of leadership- where one person speaks to and for the nation is no longer viable. Trump attempts it (give him marks for trying) and only succeeds in widening the canyon between his lovers and his haters.
The Queen and Prince Charles- like Vladimir Putin- have retired to their dachas. Charles popped up the other day to suggest we should all volunteer to pick sprouts. Not him, of course, but everybody else who doesn't have a proper job...
Prince Harry- who has occasionally been mistaken for his namesake, Henry V- is on lockdown in California.
The Archbishop of Canterbury? Well, he shut up shop. The Pope? He seems to have done the same.
It's a curious fact that this worldwide crisis has seen a great failure in leadership. All the people elected or born to the role have stepped back (as perhaps it's right they should do.) I'm not saying I'm hungry for leadership (because I'm not) just that the absence of leadership is one of the most peculiar things about this most peculiar time. The reins are hanging loose on the horses neck- and no-one has grabbed them.
When we emerge from lockdown we may remember that we managed passably well without being inspired and chivvied...
The Queen and Prince Charles- like Vladimir Putin- have retired to their dachas. Charles popped up the other day to suggest we should all volunteer to pick sprouts. Not him, of course, but everybody else who doesn't have a proper job...
Prince Harry- who has occasionally been mistaken for his namesake, Henry V- is on lockdown in California.
The Archbishop of Canterbury? Well, he shut up shop. The Pope? He seems to have done the same.
It's a curious fact that this worldwide crisis has seen a great failure in leadership. All the people elected or born to the role have stepped back (as perhaps it's right they should do.) I'm not saying I'm hungry for leadership (because I'm not) just that the absence of leadership is one of the most peculiar things about this most peculiar time. The reins are hanging loose on the horses neck- and no-one has grabbed them.
When we emerge from lockdown we may remember that we managed passably well without being inspired and chivvied...
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Date: 2020-05-20 01:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-05-20 03:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-05-20 04:52 pm (UTC)I live just 15 miles down the road from a city that was on national news last night as the FIFTH most rapidly growing hot spot IN THE NATION. Yet, I know a lot of people, including a lot of relatives, who are STILL squealing that it is all a hoax and NO ONE is going to make them wear a mask!
Every morning, I turn on the TV, hoping to hear that tRump has stroked out and DIED in the night. Once again, this morning, I have been disappointed.
no subject
Date: 2020-05-22 09:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-05-22 05:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-05-20 01:35 pm (UTC)Interesting, that..........
no subject
Date: 2020-05-20 03:39 pm (UTC)