Why is it that we follow others? If we are truly a nation built on the individuality of people, why do some people rise while others fall? Why do some people allow themselves to be herded to blindly follow a leader that may or may not be the right person for the job? If history has taught us anything, it should be this – never trust your leaders.
Trust is not something that should be offered to leaders, especially political leaders. I do not care if the man or woman can perform miracles; you have to doubt your leaders at all times. Doubting your leader should be mandatory because it keeps you thinking, questioning and analyzing their movements and actions. Its doubt that allows you to see a "leader" for what they truly are – your equal that is capable of making mistakes and errors just like you. Doubt helps you to understand that leaders are not better than you because they are simply operating on authority you gave them and you can take away.
I understand that there are people that need to trust their leaders, but that need is flawed. Trust is something that should be earned and it simply cannot be done on a national level. The people of this country can't sit back and claim to know the President; they don't know him at all. They know the image and the brand. They know the shiny exterior that is packaged and presented to the world, not the real person. I don't care if you have seen a President hug their children and kiss their wives – that is nothing more than a framed snippet presented to make the leader more likeable to the "common" people that are so willing to give away their own authority in the world.
Yes, many of you will read this and think I am talking about Obama followers, but others will look at this see Bush followers. It doesn't matter. Apply it to whomever you want but you must understand that if you are willing to trust a leader without question, you are doomed. After all, the people of Germany trusted Hitler because he was a moving and powerful leader that rescued the nation from a crushing depression and restored national pride lost during World War I. Look what happened to that nation when trust was given rather than doubt.
