Leaders Need Followers
We the People Need to Follow the Wise and Firmly Resist Destructive Leaders
Leaders need followers. If we as followers withhold following, there is no leader. In that statement is the hope to save America’s democracy.
New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker offered another way to say this is, “The power of the people is greater than the people in power.”
Withholding our following is our power when facing incompetent, unethical, criminal, murderous, abusive, or harmful leadership. It is also our responsibility as participants in a democracy. What withholding, or resistance, looks like is different for everyone. For some, it may require new levels of bravery and self-sacrifice.
It is time for Americans to search our souls to discern our potential role based on our resources, strengths, skills, and level of responsibility. In the spirit of love, we may use our creativity, courage, and hopefully, a heart-based compassion and consideration for the common good. For some newly awake to the gravity of the situation in America, an honest self-evaluation of their participation may be required. What led to the support of a destructive leader? Cory Booker called us to action when he said, “The threats to the American people and American democracy are grave and urgent, and we all must do more to stand against them.”
Women have been trained by patriarchy to be passive and soft, silent, accepting, and trusting of male leadership. Those of us who reject these standards experience backlash. Seeing this backlash, many women fall in line. These patriarchy-approved standards of behavior do not create a foundation for resistance.
Women are half of our population. We need women to participate in politics in a way that rejects harmful patriarchy and supports women. For some women who currently support harmful leaders, it may require the difficult psychological work of unpacking internalized misogyny. Why would women choose a leader who harms women over a competent woman leader? One of many science-back reasons is that women with high internalized misogyny don’t see the reality of other women’s competence. They also don’t believe, sometimes unconsciously, that women have the right to lead. Of course, these patriarchy-supporting women don’t see it that way. They believe in the delusion that upholds patriarchal norms. They think they are good women because our culture tells them so.
Can we call this a democracy when half of the American population is subordinated? Perhaps the problem with our democracy is not that we are now at risk of losing it, but that too many women have long ago abdicated their power and right to make their own decisions. Democracy is a women’s issue. Women’s rights are human rights. Women’s autonomy and right to live the life they choose is under aggressive attack. This is now costing lives with the overturning of Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022. We, the women, let that happen.
I do not believe the critical time for our democracy is happening now. I believe the threat to our democracy in the works for a long time is now coming to light. I think the critical time happened unconsciously over the past 30 years when women no longer saw the need for diligence. In this period, not enough women have stood up for all human rights, including women’s rights. Since the 70’s many women have believed that the work was already done in the 60’s and 70’s and that misogyny was no longer a significant issue. Many women chose silence over courage and personal comfort over the common good. Many women chose to enjoy the benefits of white supremacy over active support for diverse, equitable, egalitarian, and fair systems. Women chose not to be controversial, and now we all pay that price. Democracy was already being undermined when the feminists who saw the reality of the situation, were discounted, ignored, dismissed, disregarded, pathologized, and cast aside as the crazy outliers. It is time to bring back the feminists and realize feminists may have been the only sane women after all.
Some Democratic leaders are speaking out, standing up, and leading the brave charge, especially Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC), Jasmine Crockett, and Cory Booker. These are the leaders making good trouble. These are the leaders courageously acting in the best interest of Americans. We want more people with real power to take it and use it. We want our representative to be screaming bloody murder. Because it is bloody murder.
We want leaders to demonstrate courage and bravery. We want leaders who will fight for America. We want leaders to tell the truth and say it like it is. We want leaders driven by love, not greed. We want leaders who honor history, not attempt to rewrite it as a patriarchal fantasy. We want intelligent, educated, and compassionate leaders, not ignorant, sociopathic, racist, and misogynist rapists leading our country.
Our desperate need for bold and ethical leaders may explain why when New Jersey Senator Cory Booker spoke continuously for 25 hours and 5 minutes on the Senate floor protesting President Trump, he received more than 350 million likes on TikTok. We sent a clear message with the like button. We want more where that came from. Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, set the previous record 68 years ago when he held a filibuster to stop the advance of the Civil Rights Act in 1957. With that act of racism, Thurmond is now on the wrong side of history. Booker spoke intelligently and meaningfully offering meaningful content. Thurmond read from phone books and recited laws.
When history tells of this time, we know who will be on the right side of history. A 2024 study, Liberal-conservative asymmetries in anti-democratic tendencies are partly explained by psychological differences in a nationally representative U.S. sample looked at support for democracy and the relationship to political polarization and anti-democratic hostility in the U.S. Consistent with previous research, the study found that conservatism was positively and significantly correlated with the individual psychological variables of right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) and social dominance orientation (SDO). Most of the associations between anti-democratic sentiment and left-right political orientation were mediated by these psychological variables.
The study found that identification with the Republican Party was negatively correlated with support for general principles of liberal democracy including legal rights and guarantees, liberties, justice, and political equality. A positive correlation was found between identification as Republican and a willingness to defect from the rules of the game, use political violence against adversaries, and acceptance and willingness to vote for blatantly anti-democratic candidates or activity.
It is mind-boggling. What makes a group of people follow leaders who are not acting in the best interest of the common good? What makes people follow liars who lack empathy and don’t demonstrate basic ethical standards? What makes people willing to follow multiple political leaders and Supreme Court justices who have allegedly perpetrated sexual assault?
It is hard to believe how much damage Trump and team have done to our country in such a short period. He has destroyed relationships with our allies. He has tanked the economy and stock market. He is killing women with draconian reproductive laws. He has disrespected and undermined our constitution. He has threatened free speech and freedom of the press. He has deported immigrants to a notoriously brutal prison in a foreign country. He has eliminated DEI programs designed to put the most qualified people on the job. He is threatening Medicaid and Social Security, the programs that care for the most vulnerable Americans, including our elderly. His Gestapo-like ICE agents are not following due process. He is sending people to detainment camps that have reports of inhuman conditions. Kate Manne outlines more atrocities in her article This Should Be a Front Page News Story: Immigrant women have described a “hell on earth” in ICE detention centers. Few seem to care about what is happening. Never again is happening right now.
Are we a bunch of cows mooing along and being led to slaughter? The good news is that more than half of us are not cows. The bad news is that we live among cows. The latest poll in March showed 43% of Americans approve of Trump's job as president. This is the second-lowest approval rating in history, second to Trump’s own 2017 record. Yet I still think "Really?" 43% approve of a president who is destroying our country? That is too many. Jesus. When I say Jesus, I am calling to the Jesus who called us to care for the poor and needy. Jesus did warn us about the type of greed we are seeing when he said, “Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:24, New International Version)
What is it going to take to save American democracy? I think it may take a movement so creative and large that we currently don’t have a vision. At least I don’t. We need political leadership. We need to offer our following only to the deserving. Simultaneously, we need to commit to resistance. We need to be firm and withhold following from destructive leaders.
John Maxwell, in his book The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership said, “He who thinks he leads, but has no followers, is only taking a walk.” Let’s invite Trump and his incompetent team to take a walk.
We need to continue to live with hope, not fear. We need to manage our energy so we can maintain wise action. As Cory Booker in his record-breaking speech said, “I may be afraid — my voice may shake — but I’m going to speak up more.” Let’s join him.
Excellent.
Thank you for saying what needed to be said a long time ago.
Please say this again for those who think it acceptable to “grab” a woman’s genitalia: Women have been trained by patriarchy to be passive and soft, silent, accepting, and trusting of male leadership.