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Journalism of Courage
Why such obsessive concern with the 8220;leaders8221; of the world, when these have never been of such indifferent quality, and their capacity to lead seriously undermined by globalisation? Is it because of their diminished power and lowered status that debate concentrates on character and idiosyncrasies, personal qualities, their charisma, or lack of it? The contrast between aspirant Barack Obama and falling star Gordon Brown illustrates the point. So mediocre has the quality of leadership in the world been over the past two decades that Obama is hailed as a deliverer; a role he clearly does not repudiate. The crowds that turned out for a self-consciously historic occasion in Berlin demonstrate both the hollowness of contemporary leadership and the yearning for someone to show us the way, to inspire and to move us.
It is, of course, a mercy that the visionary leaders of the 20th century who sought to impose their malignant version of the world upon their own 8212; and other 8212; peoples, Hitler, Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot, should have departed. But to a world hungry for idealism and hope, surely the pedestrian lack of purpose of today8217;s global leaders represents something more than a salutary corrective to the overarching ideologies of the last century. This, perhaps, is why Obama seems a redemptive figure. It may well fall to him to restore the 8220;image8221; of the United States, especially among the poor, non-white majority of the world8230; But it would be folly to imagine he will do anything that runs counter to US interests. The most we can expect is some skilful choreography, a 8220;performance8221; to reconcile the peoples of the world with American supremacy once more.
Excerpted from a comment by Jeremy Seabrook in 8216;The Guardian8217;
