Perhaps Rule Number Two Should Be The Very First Rule

Apologies for playing the part of the dog with a bone, but I realized yesterday that I had not said nearly all I wanted to say on the intermingled subjects of leadership and a true leader doing what is right irrespective of whether it is popular. If you closed your eyes and envisioned the American president who represents the ideological opposite of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue's current tenant on those subjects, then either Harry S. Truman or Abraham Lincoln would likely occupy your mind's eye.  These days, we are a long way from either I fear.  

"A leader is somebody that can lift others into their better selves."  So said Mr. Lincoln, who spent the better part of his life proving the veracity of that statement.  Abraham Lincoln was a man who not only possessed a moral compass - or a rudder if you prefer - but a man who lived his life and who discharged his Constitutional duties as President of the United States according to it.  

We have proven in these United States that anyone, irrespective of qualities and qualifications, can be elected President.  I would argue that we have also proven that one's ability to get elected, when it is a particular candidate's most prominent attribute, is not in and of itself enough to make one worthy of the office.  I would argue that we could do much worse than making Rule Number Two the first rule by which we measure a prospective candidate's worthiness for elected office:

Rule Number Two

Pop Pop is an asshole.

In your lifetime you will encounter too many people for old, math-deficient Pop Pop to count who will tell you this about me. Do not argue the point.  Do not waste a breath defending me against the charge. They are correct. I am.  It is a character trait that I readily acknowledge. It is a character trait for which I offer no apology.

I do not apologize for it.  It is nothing for which an apology is required.  Pop Pop’s father, who was an even bigger asshole than Pop Pop, taught me when I was a little boy that life is not a popularity contest. It is a lesson that I took to heart. You should do likewise.

You should strive to bring value into your day-to-day and into the day-to-day of those you love and those with whom you interact day in and day out. Never deliberately do anyone a bad turn. If someone has deliberately done you a bad turn and you are uncomfortable about how to respond, then call Pop Pop.  I shall handle it.  I am an asshole, remember?

Doing what is right is far more important than doing what is popular. Focus on the former. Never give even a rat’s ass about the latter. The world is shoulder-deep in empty suits. Do not be one of them. You need not be universally loved but if you are universally respected, then even though some shall consider you an asshole, far more will recognize you for the good, stand-up person you are. 

At day’s end and at life’s end that is what matters. 

   

-AK