blog 1 (12-5-11)

The whole metaphor regarding the Allegory of the Cave relates to leadership. I think that the people in the first row (tied up, who were like puppets) who when asked to describe a human, would say a shadow are being deprived from so many things. They are not getting exposed to "reality"; how to interact with other people, how to work with the environment, and how to overall function in society. The people above those chained to the wall are slightly more knowledge because they know the shadows are not real, and they are one step above the average citizen. The classification of individuals who have "more authority" can essentially be anyone, because almost anyone can be a leader. And this is where the role and the definition of leadership comes in. An effective leader would figure out a way to escape the false reality taking place in the cave. They would be able to think that extra thought, and go that extra step, where an average citizen would not begin to think. An effective leader would realize that that reality was not the most efficient, not the most beneficial, and not the most logical, therefore they would move toward enlightenment. Additionally, leadership comes in when the leader has the ability and the skills to convince and show people why they should move out of the cave, and better themselves into the leader's knowledge and perspectives. It takes not only an effective leader, but a good leader to accomplish something like that. Adolf Hitler was an effective leader, one could say, because he got thousands and thousands of people to follow him and move towards his view on life. He accomplished his goals to one extent, and was backed up by followers and listeners, so in that sense he was effective. He was not a morally acceptable or "good" leader because his reasons for his actions and opinions could not be justified or fully proven. A good leader needs to not only be sympathetic, but empathetic as well. Sympathetic means understanding, accepting, and feeling bad for another person. Empathetic means putting yourself into someone else's shoes and imagining how you would feel and what you would do in their situation- taking that extra step and making more of an effort. If one day someone, most likely a figure of authority, told you everything you had been doing and believing your whole life was completely uncivil and flat out wrong, what would you do? It would have to take a consistent, effective, and selling person to completely shift your life. An effective leader might barge in and tell you everything you are doing is wrong, and you need to change instantly, and they could succeed in altering your choices. However, a good leader would move at a steady pace, explain to you why their way is better than yours using a solid balance of facts, knowledge, plus their views/ideas. Not only does that good leader explain why his new way of doing things would be better for you, but why it would positively benefit the society, and how it would make society run smoother. Along with leaders, ordinary citizens play a big role in this whole situation. The amount of power reserved for the citizens, affected the superiority and authority given to the leaders. Some people would say citizens and your place in society is hereditary because if you are born into a wealthy family and your parents are well known and respected, then you are better off, and have more of a potential to be successful. On the other, it is partly the leaders responsibility to cut of these distinctions and instead unify their people. Citizens also affect the leaders because the citizens are the ones who get to choose what makes up a good leader, and without the followers, than there would be no leaders. Just like Socrates displayed, a good leader needs to be both charesmatic and studious.