The Perils of Mendacity:Virtue in Political Leadership

Rabbi Jonathan Spira-Savett asked Hillary Clinton how she balanced the ambition it takes to run for President and the humility it requires to live the life of services.  Buried in the rabbi’s question is the special quality needed in the leadership of any public office set up for the purpose of serving all the people all of the time.

A definition of the word virtue: “Behavior showing high moral standards; a commendable quality or personal trait or moral excellence.”  Educational accomplishment is not a virtue and should not be treated as one. Yet, as a people, we keep getting it wrong again and again. The important traits that renders a leader worthy of respect and praise, reside in the halls of virtues. There are a number of different virtues to be considered: humility, mercy, kindness, patience, peace, integrity, discretion, honesty, hard work, love, faithfulness. I would like, in this article, to highlight humility.

Modern-day history is replete with countless leaders from various backgrounds and virtues who  have influenced millions across the globe and apart from Hillary Clinton, one would include Winston Churchill and Nelson Mandela.

Churchill was once asked: “Doesn’t it thrill you to know that every time you make a speech the hall is packed to overflowing?” He replied: “It is quite flattering. But whenever I feel that way, I always remember that if instead of making a political speech I was being hanged, the crowd would be twice as large.” Flattery is like fine perfume, someone else once noted, “it’s okay to sniff it, but don’t drink it!”

Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first black President, considered one of the greatest and most influential leaders of our era, was well known for his humility. Saint Lucia was fortunate to have had the opportunity in 1998 to welcome Nelson Mandela on home ground and to experience his humility, when he participated in the Nineteenth Meeting of CARICOM Heads of Government. President Mandela also embraced the opportunity to attend a youth rally in his honor, at which he danced, shared jokes and laughed with our young people.

On the matter of leadership, Nelson Mandela was quoted in an April 2001 interview published in Oprah’s O magazine: “ If you want the cooperation of humans around you, you must make them feel they are important—and you do that by being genuine and humble.”

Let us cast our minds to the writings in the Book of Virtues. It contains many oxymorons,   things that don’t really make sense and things that seem to be contradictory. For example: giving is receiving; to live is to die. Well, humility comes because you are a servant. And when you want to be served, that actually is an aspect of pride. So, whoever wants to be first must become last and be a servant. Greatness comes through being the least.

We sometimes confuse humility with character traits representative of weakness. Actually, humility is one of the more obvious signs of strength in an individual. The demonstration of humility is best practiced when a leader brings positive change to our world and is able to lift up others that are down; when he helps the poor; when he helps the young criminals that are the consequence of being shafted for years without representation. An inequity is created by a leader’s own intellectual bankruptcy; when he becomes the enemy of progress. We have seen many of our leaders on life support, but still preaching politics. Even a fool can speak divisive words. when a man can lead with humility and compassion, then and only then will he  understand and appreciate his intellectual strength.

My hope is that as we examine the emerging candidates for our parliamentary system, we will look for this type of humility in the men and women in whose hands we place our destiny. We need men and women able effectively to deal with burgeoning crime, wall-to-wall poverty, inequity, social bankruptcy, unemployment, broken health care and justice systems, education, and the lack of investment in our human capital.  

While at this time our nation may be on life support, we must never permit ourselves to imagine leadership as the purview of a privileged few. The invitation to reset the leadership criteria is more than a call to join an army of blind critics. Rather, it is an unfolding narrative that rejects sophistic arguments and selfish political agendas. A brighter future lies in the core traits and principles we believe are the virtues of humility, integrity, public service, hard work, compassion, freedom, human dignity, honesty, individual and collective responsibility.