Why is that we feel compelled to take words that mean one thing and twist them to mean something completely different? In my youth, somehow the word “bad” came to mean “good.” Today, I hear kids using the word “sick” to mean “great” or “awesome.” This isn’t simply a practice reserved for the young. I recently came across a word that connotes something radically different from the definitions we find in the dictionary. The word is “visionary.”
Today, as we commemorate and celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., it is important to contemplate the impact that his life and leadership had on each of us. I consider my generation to be fairly enlightened in terms of race relations, certainly more enlightened than my parents’ and grandparents’ generations. I have close friends, colleagues, neighbors – even a president – of races different from my own. These relationships never seemed unusual or surprising. In fact, I have always taken race relations for granted. As the son of a United States Naval officer, I grew up seeing leaders of color as a normal and expected thing.
We can find wisdom anywhere we look. Sometimes we don’t even have to look that hard. It just jumps up and smacks us in the head. One of my favorite sources is comic strips. For me, The Far Side is a constant spring of priceless life lessons. One of my father’s favorite quotes came from Walt Kelly’s cartoon, Pogo, which originated in 1948. Pogo, the title character said, “We have met the enemy and he is us.” While it may be grammatically imperfect, the wisdom is flawless.
Everyone knows the story of Benedict Arnold. His name has become synonymous with “traitor” in the American lexicon. Yesterday was the anniversary of one of his more infamous acts as a turncoat. On January 5, 1781, Arnold led a British raid on Richmond, Virginia, destroying a large portion of the city. Arnold is an easy guy to hate, but his treachery is only part of the story.
I have always known that great leadership and great parenting have a lot in common. Like parents, leaders often make sacrifices for the sake of those they lead. Just like parenting, leadership sometimes calls for a generous dose of tough love. Good leaders recognize that long-term happiness and success may mean short-term disappointment or frustration for their followers.