After reading
this brilliant entry over at MyDD, it feels time for another reminding of why this Mormon chooses to be a Democrat. These remarks are from a 1983 talk by Hugh W. Nibley, who is probably the most respected scholar the LDS Church has ever produced:
The leader.. has a passion for equality. We think of great generals... sharing their beans or maza with their men, calling them by their first names, marching along with them in the heat, sleeping on the ground, and being first over the wall...
For the manager, on the other hand, the idea of equality is repugnant and even counterproductive. Where promotion, perks, privilege, and power are the name of the game, awe and reverence for rank is everything, the inspiration and motivation of all good men. Where would management be without the inflexible paper processing, dress standards, attention to proper social, political, and religious affiliation, vigilant watch over habits and attitudes, that gratify the stockholders and satisfy security?...That is why the rise of management always marks the decline, alas, of culture.
The Republican Party has been hijacked by "managers." They have managed us into war and out of our security. It was management that failed in New Orleans when we needed leadership. Our health care is being managed by the industry, our armed services are being managed by civilian hawks and
seagulls, and maybe worst of all, the administration insists on managing the rest of the world.
I agree with MyDD, maybe the best message for 2006 is that the Republicans are terrible managers in a time when we need real leadership.
Here's another tidbit from Nibley about the difference between "leaders" and "managers":
To Parkinson's Law, which shows how management gobbles up everything else, he added what he calls the "Law of Injelitance": Managers do not promote individuals whose competence might threaten their own position; and so as the power of management spreads ever wider, the quality deteriorates (if that is possible). In short, while management shuns equality, it feeds on mediocrity.
On the other hand, leadership is an escape from mediocrity. All the great deposits of art, science, and literature from the past, on which all civilization has been nourished, come to us from a mere handful of leaders. For the qualities of leadership are the same in all fields, the leader being simply the one who sets the highest example; and to do that and open the way to greater light and knowledge, the leader must break the mold. "A ship in port is safe," says Captain Hopper speaking of management, "but that is not what ships were built for," she says, calling for leadership.
The rest of the talk is just as amazing, though maybe be a little doctine-y for the non-religious. Here is a link to the full written talk and here is a link to a recording of that talk.