#184 / More Followers

I enjoyed a recent book review by James Goodman, appearing in yesterday's edition of The New York Times Book Review. Titled "Profiles in Caution" in the print edition (something different in the online version), Goodman's review discussed a new book by Steven Levingston, Kennedy And King. 

King is quoted, in the book, as claiming that, "It is a difficult thing to teach a president." Hey, if we didn't know that then, we sure know it now!

What I most liked about the review, however, was an observation by the reviewer, Goodman, which I think is right on the mark:

What is needed today is not more leaders, a few men and women shaping our destiny, but more followers. What is needed are ordinary people: alert, informed, engaged, mobilized, idealistic but not naïve, critical but not hopeless, confident about who they are and what they want but able and inclined to work with all sorts of others, exercising rights won at enormous cost, starting with the right to vote. What is needed, in short, are more citizens, prepared to lead our leaders toward a more promising land.

If we want to be heading to a "more promising," if not to the "promised," land, what we need is, exactly, more "ordinary people" who are "alert and engaged." 

That's what that American Revolution was really all about. 

Image Credit:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/29/books/review/kennedy-and-king-steven-levingston.html