So what is this thing called leadership, exactly? Like most things of this nature, it’s easier to say what it isn’t, rather than define its true nature. So I’ll go against the grain and try to define what it is, at least so far as what America needs.

Leadership: forget it. I looked up all the various definitions from Merriam Webster to Tony Robbins. Leadership is being a leader. Boy, that’s really helpful. Tony says there’s no single answer. Thanks, Tone.. The Supreme Court would likely say they don’t know what it is, but they know it when they see it. Well, at least they usedta..that was their definition of pornography back in ’64.

OK, so we can’t define it, but maybe we can describe it. Standing up when everybody else sits down. Blue-faced Mel Gibson in Braveheart. Uh, you might say, I don’t think you should hold Mel up as an example of leadership. Oops, sorry. Moving on to real people.

Alright, I’m going back to my old tried and true: Abe Lincoln. Abraham never gave up, in spite of overwhelming abuse from his enemies as well as his peers. Yes, he made many mistakes – likely you could say, but for his efforts, the Civil War might not have happened. But he was a true leader because he never gave up. He wouldn’t quit. He tried everything in his power to see this country through what I would characterize as its darkest days. Yes, worst than now. Worse than the Depression. Worse than Vietnam. The darkest.

And what was it about Abe that made him the right guy in the right place at the right time? He took ownership of the problem. Others tried to take the power away from him; he refused to cede it. Others tried to embarrass, harass and persuade him to do things he knew were wrong. He found clever and creative ways to neutralize their efforts. He was distracted by personal problems – a crazy wife and the death of a beloved son. He just picked himself up and went back to work. He was surrounded by incompetence and, in fact, treasonous intent on the part of one of his early generals (ref: picture above). He used the power of the presidency to keep replacing bad leadership until he found a general that was a keeper in Grant. He never wavered.

Of course, we know what his reward was for all this efforts: reelection and 41 days later, assassination. But that’s not the point. Ross Perot – yes, that one who turned out to be a little nuts when he had a brief run for the presidency – actually had a fairly good description of a leader. He said it was a “monomaniac with a mission.” He certainly embodied those traits, but not always to a good end. Then there’s that character from fiction – Captain Ahab. He was most definitely a monomaniac with a mission. If you read the book – or more likely saw the movie – you know that didn’t end well either. So that’s an example of leadership that loses touch with what is important: the mission, not the missionary.

So what do we have today in our so-called leadership? Hucksters, cowards, frauds, liars, cheats, thieves..did I leave anything out? Oh, yes: traitors. Cloaked in the American flag, with pins on their lapels and crocodile tears shed for those sweet little children that got shot by ‘that madman’, they make suggestions to fix the problem. One door into the school. I guess that’s an allusion to the teacher that propped open the back door to quickly retrieve a cell phone. Sigh. OK. How about arm those teachers? There’s a really smart idea, but not a new one. That was floated back in 2018 after the Parkland massacre. How about this one? Man traps and trip wires. Think base perimeter in the Vietnam war. Imagine your nine year old seeing that as she walks into her elementary school. Oh my God.

So the question must be posed: what would Abe do? If we could resurrect his spirit and ask him that question, he’d likely start with the obvious. “Why does an 18 year old need an automatic weapon?” Raise the age to 40. Whoa! Are you mad? That’ll never work. Hmm. That sounds familiar. When Abe proposed the Emancipation Proclamation, there were very similar reactions from friend and foe alike. But he did it. And we all know how things turned out, don’t we? No? 180,000 black men – freemen as well as runaway slaves – joined the Union Army at a time when recruitment was seriously lagging. It likely made the difference between continuing to fight and the breakup of the union. No big deal. Right?

So what is needed now is audacity. Audacity requires heroic leadership. We need a hero right now. Got any suggestions? No? OK, then, I guess we all have to be heroes – if just for one day. Cue Bowie.