We need leaders as much...
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We need leaders as much as Israel in the wilderness needed Moses. We need leaders who can personify our needs and articulate our dreams. We need to realize that those who emerge as leaders in a given nation at a given time are not particularly the brightest, most articulate or most moral of their generation. They are, however, those who can provide for the people an image of their own needs. This imaging is not particularly a positive act, nor are leaders gifted with imaging the yearnings of the national soul particularly constructive leaders. Sometimes the dark side of the communal soul is lifted up and given precedence and power. In the Germany of the Nazis Hitler did this. He personified and articulated the darkest aspect of the German soul in the era following the First World War. He was a classic leader. This did not make him a good leader or a moral leader. Those leaders who are able to speak to our needs may show us an image of ourselves as hollow and dangerous as a golden calf.
