Where did the Leadership Go?

I must follow the people. Am I not their leader? —Benjamin Disraeli

A leader is a dealer in hope. —Napoleon Bonaparte

A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd. —Max Lucado

He who has never learned to obey cannot be a good commander. —Aristotle

Mohandas Gandhi

Pierre Trudeau

Great leaders capable of taking  big decisions seem to be rapidly disappearing on all continents. In Europe no more heavy-weights like  Churchill, De Gaulle, Adenauer, Helmut Schmidt and Willie Brandt; instead we have lightweights like Barroso, Rasmussen, Lady Ashton, Hollande and Merkel.



  In Canada no more leaders like Lester Pearson, Paul Martin, Jean Chretien, Joe Clarke and Pierre Trudeau; instead we have Stephen Harper and our famous mayor, Rob Ford. Not sure how to label the US leadership. Once there was Teddy and then Delano Roosevelt, but nothing since Lyndon Johnson;  Bill Clinton serving his banksters by scrapping Glass-Steagall, Hilary uttering Cold War nonsense and associating Putin with Hitler, Obama preaching America's exceptionalism and supporting disasters led  by his appointed trouble makers like Victoria Nuland's PNAC gang, As for the UK we have Mr Cameron, America's servant, and the ever present Lady Ashton parroting whatever the script prescribes.

Winston Churchill

There was a time when leaders were capable of sitting with their sworn enemies to hammer out deals. At Yalta, Roosevelt sat a the same table with Churchill and Stalin. Now we have Obama refusing to talk with Putin, hiding behind NATO and resorting to pouting and sanctions. Western leadership is now like a club house filled with self-serving mediocrities.  Ironically the only country with a real leader is Russia but Europe, US and Canada won't let him sit at the table for fear they might have to hear something that conflicts with the US song sheet they must follow.

Nelson Mandela

Musafa Kamal Attaturk.

Why do they want to destroy Vladimir Putin? Well first of all he is Russian and therefore the enemy of Washington, their loyal EU puppets and the NATO war machine.  I suppose other reasons for  a start might be he is an opponent of Washington's PNAC hegemonic ambitions, a critic of the mob scene in Kiev, resisting US ambition to appoint and control the leadership in Syria and Ukraine, and his condemning them for the failed state disasters they left in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya and now in Ukraine plus US tolerating wealthy Saudi Arabian's support of Jihads,
Also a reminder that Russia hasn't invaded anyone; Crimea overwhelmingly voted to join Russia after the mentally limited US hand-picked Ukrainian leader, Oleksandr Turchnov declared that his Russian speaking citizens were no longer entitled to their language.  NYT and Globe and Mail pundit's are either avoiding this truth that doesn't fit their script or having great difficulty understanding this. If Canada had similarly declared the nullification of the French language Quebec would have instantly succeeded to join France so the departure of Crimea is clearly understandable. With the US fleet positioned in Sevastopol, Poroshenko, the chocolate oligarch new leader of Ukraine, is determined against their will to bring Crimea back into the arms of Ukraine. Poroshenko just a few years ago was described by the CIA as a self enriching crook, but he is now our crook and therefore Washington's and the EU's anointed leader.

Charles De Gaulle

In a nutshell, where have all the real leaders gone? Why have they been replaced with such self serving mediocrities? De Gaulle and Schmidt wouldn't have put up with any of this.

The NYT and Fox News have been preaching for some time pure propaganda that Vladimir Putin is an evil dictator. After cleaning up the financial mess from the rape of Russia's assets during the IMF aided Yeltsin period of 'Gangster Capitalism' that created overnight billionaires (most of whom now sit with their laundered stolen wealth in Britain) and impoverished the population, Putin raised the standard of living, put the economy on a sound footing and enjoys a popularity rating far above that of any Western leader. Loves animals too. He rightly imprisoned Mikhail Khodorkovsky who was recognized by the CIA of amongst other offences tax evasion including 10 billion dollars of money laundering. Putin must be bad but not sure why. The weak but obedient rabble that we now have as leaders now sit around a table to decide how Vladimir Putin and the Russian people should be punished. To save the taxpayer some money why don't these same leaders apply sanctions at the same time to America's and the UK's leaders for the far greater crimes they have committed.  Their list of crimes is long; in the past two decades they have left Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan and Vietnam in ruins and millions have been slaughtered, but all is forgiven without sanctions and lets move on and focus on Putin. Russia in modern times hasn't invaded anyone while the West has been busy; but no matter, because maybe if we upset their borders enough they just might and NATO will have something to do. The Charge of the Light Brigade will be reborn.

Why is this happening to leadership? 

The veritable explosion of sources for information through the internet  challenges our  conventional view of where we can find the truth. Leaders were once looked to as a top down source for guidance, but now the internet has opened up a global village for debate the moment a leader speaks and every voice must be heard. Admittedly this is a good thing, Everyone is entitled to their opinion whether a scholar, an oracle, just a journalist or an ignorant bigot. The internet has opened up many sites that challenges the mainstream media. The cacophony is deafening. How to choose? Eric Fromm's famous book written in 1941 'The Escape from Freedom'  is highly relevant reading today. Fromm emphasizes the human tendency of retreating from intellectual freedom by adopting the values and ideas of others. The choices  presented in this exploding information age are vast and heightens the confusion.The pundits and politicians of many stripes try to guide us through this swamp with many of them like our Canadian PM, Mr Harper part of the swamp and adding fuel to the confusion. We all have our favourites depending on our biases. 

Can real leaders survive in this jungle of information surrounded by a circus of media consultants, supporting politicians, strategists, back room specialists, pollsters, script writers, film makers, and with equally well financed attacking opponents tearing this all to shreds. Where is Waldo in all this? With all this expertise will wealth determine the winner? Can they fabricate, cut and paste false leaders to serve their ideologies and objectives? Will any leader say anything that they have personally thought out or written? Will we be voting for well financed committees with the false leaders videoed by aides simply waving at a distance as they step out of helicopters?

I wonder what it cost to develop and support great leaders in the past in comparison with what it costs today to produce these new humanoid leaders backed by their armies of helpers?