There are some black dogs prowling our world. Anxious followers call out for better leadership. If only we were better led, we would better follow. And would better subdue our economic and political perils before they devour us
Here's the problem with that logic. It's a lie...!
Followers hear the leadership they choose to hear. They follow the leaders they choose to follow. To say their lack of fight is a lack of leadership is like the losing pitcher who's reluctant to listen to his catcher.
We're instructed by the nattering punditry that no one's in charge anymore. Our gods have been discovered to have feet of clay, our emperors are marching without their clothes, our clergy are no longer being attended, and the Bully Pulpit so mastered by the likes of TR and FDR stands empty.
If the indictments be true, where do today's followers turn? To what voices do they respond? Tell us so we can catch their cadence so as to better stave off the dogs?
If surveys are correct, a growing percent of the followers are responding to a whole new breed of leaders -- our comedians. Late-night TV hosts and concert hall standups have taken on a new voice of authority. Like the ancient temple priests of Egypt and the oracles of Delphi, these new Mark Twains and Will Rogers are reaching in one week more followers than any manager, senator, or president.
What's more, they have no reporters' questions to answer, no Sunday panel shows to face, no editorials to endure. An entirely new brigade of leadership whose voices massage the national mood...shape the national agenda...use the scalpel of humor to operate on the national psyche. Hey, no more the ragamuffin, baggy-pants clowns of yore. Today's comedians have become the leadership everyone's looking for.
Have I told you the one about this congressman's alcoholic wife....?
I agree with you. I think people tend to turn to the late night hosts and comedians in their search for some kind of relief from the harsh reality that is the "real" world today. Whether you agree with the current powers in office or not, I think everyone is in search of some comfort anywhere they can find it.
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