Revolutions Need Leaders
Revolutionaries, even.
“If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of revolution, when the old and the new stand side by side and admit of being compared, when the energies of all men are searched by fear and by hope, when the historic glories of the old can be compensated by the rich possibilities of the new era?”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1837
Exciting times indeed, when Emerson wrote those words. It was the latter days of the Industrial Revolution, when major advances in mining, agriculture, transportation, textiles, and more were making Europe and America bustling economies.
At the same time, wealthy southerners were still dependent on slaves for their livelihood, and America was coming off of eight years of Andrew Jackson as president (himself a slave holder), who oversaw the Trail of Tears.
If we all had the benefit of H.G. Wells’ contraption and were able to place ourselves in any era of our choosing, odds are we would find the period neither perfect nor terrible, but rather a mix of the two.
Individuals are very rarely pure good or pure evil; at scale, humanity is even less so.
When Change Is Needed
But there are moments during these times that lend themselves to some sort of uprising. A revolt or revolution of sorts.
The inevitable question is: who’s going to lead it?
In 1938, Simone Weil wrote Oppression and Liberty from Paris, in which she explored the passive and active elements within revolutions. The word itself, she wrote, was “a watchword determining the direction to be followed by action and propaganda,” but in order to be affected, it requires an organized movement.
Particularly because when that many people unite behind a cause, “the masses give expression to unequal demands” and “one man’s revolution is not always that of his neighbor.”
While many revolutions seem (at least in retrospect) spontaneous, almost a side-effect of the gathered masses, the fact is they require leadership, planning, and determination.
“Anyone can steer the ship when the sea is calm.”
— Pubilius Syrus, c. 40 BC
When Leaders Are Needed
Not everyone is destined to be a leader in such situations. Leadership has its challenges even in the most mundane times.
Without the proper individual driving for change, the revolution — whether it’s a family decision, a change in business model, or a political uprising — will falter. We can’t wait for change to happen; we need to find true leadership to affect change.
Simone Weil again:
“At bottom, one thinks nowadays of the revolution not as a solution to the problems raised at the present time but as a miracle dispensing one from solving problems. The proof that it is so regarded is that it is expected to drop from the skies; one waits for it to happen, one does not ask oneself who is to bring it about.”
Whatever change you’re looking to make, you need to determine in whom you’ll place your trust. Someone who's looking out for you and has the grit, foresight, and charisma to ensure those needs are heard.
In short, a servant leader.
Who knows? Maybe that someone is you.
There’s so much to learn,
Your writing is exactly what I needed to see and accept- the importance of the issues I am about to engage in a new way through my writing that exposes the truth and puts the facts and law in context to show the damage being done in our system of justice by insurance interests. The solutions will not fall out of the sky but I can get the dialog to be genuine in seeing and finding fixes to the problems that will be shown to be undeniable.
Also the nervousness I am feeling in meditating on this revolutionary message as you put it together here- discerning my role that I must take on- is uneasy as usual. Yet I can see that I can use this as the fuel that starts the new fire. Ironic since my working title is Fire on Main Street. Thank you so much for this unexpected serious lift to the revolutionary work I must step up and lead into a launch of change.