What chimpanzees (and primitive cultures) could teach Trump about leadership
What chimpanzees (and primitive cultures) could teach Trump about leadership
Groups of chimps, and preliterate human societies, have clear standards of leadership. Donald Trump falls short
BOB DEUTSCH at Salon
https://www.salon.com/2020/04/29/what-chimpanzees-and-primitive-cultures-could-teach-trump-about-leadership/
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Governing vs. Dominating: American democracy exists for the common good, not simply for the president's own good. A president must consider what he or she wants to do and what ought to be done, given all the competing forces that impact on most presidential decisions. Trump's orientation is first and foremost toward Trump, and this immediately relates to counting votes and money. Trump is a modern-day Boss Tweed. In spite of the fact that Trump thinks of himself as America's CEO, with his eyes on himself and on his earnings, America is not a business. America is also not an ideal. America is an idea. In 1776, that idea was creativity, going beyond a monarchy. In 2020, it should remain so.
Respect and Commendation vs. Fear and Grievance: Instead of promoting vitality, cooperation and praiseworthy behavior — as examples of ingenuity and self-sacrifice, for instance — Trump is a natural agitator mainly concerned with self-aggrandizement. For example, he excites and accentuates the anger and fear some people have about America's traditional institutions, decrying the federal government as "the Swamp" he wants to drain. Trump blames the people that run these government institutions and also "coastal intellectuals" for being responsible for every gripe his base has. Instead, the leader of any size entity — a nation, a company, a health care or educational system, even a small business — should provide a common vision of what's possible if its members work together. Fear and anger are easy emotions to activate, but also do the greatest harm in reducing the cognitive capacity for open and imaginative thinking. Cynicism is a powerful enemy of creativity, and right now, when getting back to normal seems impossible, creativity is not a luxury but a necessity. Humans have evolved past the hamadryas baboon model.
Seeking Stability That Fosters Progress vs. Causing Instability: Trump seems to believe in the dictator's rulebook: to maintain control, you ferment conflict within your citizenry, confuse people with contradictory pronouncements and, in general, keep people off balance. This brings to mind one function of East Germany's Stasi, the notorious secret police that specialized in sowing suspicion and distrust. Recently, Trump said state governors should decide when and how to open up their jurisdictions, while on the same day he sent three tweets urging protesters to "Liberate" Virginia, Michigan and Minnesota from lockdown restrictions. It has become customary for Trump to encourage culture wars and he never seems to miss an opportunity to disqualify all criticism, particularly by defining a free press as "the deep state" or "fake news." While Vice President Spiro Agnew did this for Richard Nixon, Trump doesn't delegate this function. Trump is a textbook propagandist. We don't know for sure whether Trump and Vladimir Putin actively colluded to put a dent in American democracy, but these men are deeply simpatico: birds of a feather.
Expert Advisers vs. Cronies: The mark of any good leader is surrounding himself or herself with experts, as well as allowing for dissent and hearing recommendations that fly in the face of "I want." Nixon, who was untrusting and defensively vigilant toward anyone who was not an unquestioning believer, was bad at surrounding himself with experts with a view towards the common good. He might well be bested by Trump in that regard. In primitive tribes, shamans are respected individuals, looked upon for their curative knowledge and rituals, their communion with the spirit world and their advice during times of tribal high emotion. If different from the Alpha, the shaman as court jester is often allowed to persist. Hail Shaman Fauci.
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