democracy Archives - CENTRE FOR STATECRAFT

Statesmen are seldom appreciated in their own time

T C — Mon, 26 Aug 2019 14:58:00 +0000

Statesmen Are Seldom Appreciated in Their Own Time

Often Statesmen are only truly appreciated after their service is over, perhaps even departed this life. This is understandable because the Statesman operates on a longer time-frame, The Statesman is proactive rather than reactive. In democratic governance, the people ─ the electorate ─ tend to be more concerned with meeting felt needs than needs that may exist in the future. Professor Alexander Fraser Tytler, the Scottish historian, writing at the end of the eighteenth Century, warned of this when he is purported to have said:

A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the Public Treasury. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the Public Treasury with a result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy …. ¹

The Politician will play to this sentiment because he quickly realizes that the best way to appeal to the electorate is to give them what they want ─ the most benefits from the public treasury. The Statesman has a difficult time in a contest against an opponent with this mindset. In contrast to the Statesman, the Politician is comfortable with this approach because he/she measures success in the short term.

Statesmen use a longer time-frame in measuring their effectiveness. The criteria of the Statesman are: Did I make life better for the people? Were lives better because of my service on their behalf? The Statesman, like the shepherd, is always looking ahead, asking what dangers are ahead for the sheep. Furthermore, the Statesman also ideally is seeking approval from our ultimate Master, our Lord the Creator, rather than man, although under our Lord’s guidance, the people benefit immensely. Statesmen have in mind that they have another Judge even more important than the electorate who will evaluate their actions and their motivation:

For we will all stand before the tribunal of God. For it is written: As I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow to Me, and every tongue will give praise to God. So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. ²

All of this creates the dilemma of the Statesman not receiving proper acclaim from those served. In fact, approval in our own generation may or may not come. As I cautiously identify Statesmen, in my mind, I include William Wilberforce, Abraham Lincoln and George C. Marshall and Nelson Mandela. Among Wilberforce, Lincoln and Marshall, not one of these Statesmen was universally appreciated in their own era. Wilberforce was a political outcast until late in his struggle to eliminate slavery. Lincoln was hated so much that he was assassinated. Marshall, although he received the Nobel Peace Prize, was largely overlooked in his own nation. If you were to ask an American today who George C. Marshall was, most would not be able to answer you. Statesmen, as I am defining them, do not always attain the highest office. Typically, they are more concerned with doing good than the political expediency necessary to be elected. The fourth Statesman, Nelson Mandela, was the exception in that he was immediately recognized for his amazing contribution.

This leads us to the question: If Statesmen are not fully appreciated in their own time, does democracy guarantee that we place in position leaders with the hearts to be Statesmen? Does democracy guarantee that we gain the best leaders? Is democracy more conducive to statesmanship than other forms of Government? When the democratic experiment was instituted in the United States, it was expected that the best and brightest would serve the people in Government. The challenge democracy presents is that it requires a political figure to be continually campaigning for the next election or a higher Government position. In this sense, democracy seems to reward Politicians. As such, it is difficult for one who has the heart of a Statesman to be elected to office through the democratic process. It will take wisdom on his/her part. It will also require a maturity on the part of the electorate.

As I consider Abraham Lincoln, I believe that abolition of slavery was a part of God’s progressive revelation to him. Furthermore, I am convinced that if Lincoln had understood this from the beginning and made it a part of his campaign, it is unlikely he would have been elected. In 1860, at the national convention that selected the presidential candidate to represent his party, Lincoln polled a distant second on the first ballot. It was only on subsequent ballots where he began to emerge as the candidate of the party, finally winning the nomination on the third ballot.

Dag Hammarskjöld is perhaps the United Nations Secretary-General considered the closest to a statesman. President John F. Kennedy described Hammarskjöld as “the greatest statesman of our century.” ³ He was only considered for the position of Secretary-General after other more experienced candidates were eliminated from the race by the veto-wielding nations of the U.N. Security Council. ⁴ He was chosen as a candidate who would not offend the two Security Council nations leading the two sides of the Cold War. In other words, he was thought to be a Politician and that is what the selecting powers wanted. While in office, he refused to bend to those two super powers.

The dilemma is that God, when He designed Government, intended that every governing official be a Statesman. However, His creation’s nature would dispose them to prefer Politicians. When the person with the heart of a Statesman achieves office, that individual must recognize that it truly was God Himself who placed him/her in that position and that we should continually look to Him for guidance as His instrument. The Statesman must understand that service to one’s people is a calling from God and will always require God’s wisdom to navigate the challenge faced in navigating the idiosyncrasy of democratic governance:

Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without criticizing, and it will be given to him. ⁵

References:

1. Alexander Fraser Tytler (1748-1813) in The Decline and Fall of the Athenian Republic, attributed.
2. Bible, Romans 14;10-12.
3. Roger Lipsey, Hammarskjöld: A Life (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2013).
4. Brian Urquhart, Hammarskjold (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1972), pp. 9-16.
5. Bible, James 1:5.

The post Statesmen are seldom appreciated in their own time appeared first on CENTRE FOR STATECRAFT.

Statesmen Drawing the Politicians into the Vision

T C — Mon, 08 Jul 2019 15:02:00 +0000

Statesmen Drawing the Politicians into the Vision

Download a PDF of this essay We have already defined a Statesman as a leader who is unique in terms of vision and character, as for example, expressed by Edmund Burke:

The great difference between the real statesman and the pretender is that the one sees into the future, while the other regards only the present; the one lives by the day, and acts on expediency; the other acts on enduring principles and for immortality.

In a democracy, it takes a miracle for a Statesman to be elected where the Politician promises more immediate benefits that are attractive to a superficial electorate. Then, when the Statesman gains office, implementing one’s vision presents a challenge in a democracy where one individual cannot govern by oneself, but rather must have the agreement of others, who are unlikely to share his character or values. Since there are few Statesmen within the political class, the Statesman cannot count on the support of like-minded officials to implement policy. As the Politicians will not be like-minded, the Statesman must influence those considered Politicians. How does that Statesman face this challenge? The hope for the Statesman is to instill the vision, which drives him, into the lives of those whose cooperation is essential for implementation. The first step is to understand the vision, character and values of the Politicians that surround him. The Statesman must, of necessity, understand that the Politicians around him are driven by more limited goals. He understands that there are two natures in the Politician, as in all human beings ‒ one with a desire to do good as well as a desire to personally benefit from the exercise of power – and then appeals to this better nature. Jesus taught:

You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you… (Matthew 5:43-44)

He was not saying that we should treat those who think differently as our enemies, rather but that we should make every effort to find good within those with different values for the benefit of mankind. He was really saying to care about those with different values and perspectives than we have ‒ to look for the best in them and to engage them. Then, I am convinced that the Statesman understands and employs the powerful Biblical concept: persuasion. Let us consider these examples from the life and teaching of Paul: Therefore, because we know the fear of the Lord, we seek to persuade people. We are completely open before God, and I hope we are completely open to your consciences as well. (2 Corinthians 5:12)

He reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath and tried to persuade both Jews and Greeks. (Acts 18:4)

Then he entered the synagogue and spoke boldly over a period of three months, engaging in discussion and trying to persuade them about the things of the kingdom of God. (Acts 19:8)

After arranging a day with him, many came to him at his lodging. From dawn to dusk he expounded and witnessed about the kingdom of God. He tried to persuade them concerning Jesus from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets. (Acts 28:23)

Finally, we have this example with the territorial governor:

Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Are you going to persuade me to become a Christian so easily?” (Acts 26:28)

The Biblical approach is to respect opposing viewpoints, treating them as if they are sincere, and to work to persuade those with those opposing viewpoints. I can see examples of this principle being applied in the lives of those we all consider to be Statesmen. While Nelson Mandela was still in prison, the South African administration could see that apartheid was nearing its end. However, while fearful of the step to take, it was necessary for those in the administration who held the power to be convinced that they could trust Mandela, that he had a vision for a democratic South Africa which would respect the rights not only of those in the majority but those in the minority as well. George C. Marshall provides a constructive example. While Foreign Minister, Marshall had a vision for helping in the reconstruction of Europe after the devastation of World War II. His vision was so important to him that he did everything he could to help others take ownership over the vision and to take the focus away from himself politically. Since his party did not control the legislature, and therefore the budget, he worked to include the opposing party in the vision. The vision was so important to him that he even was willing to give up any political benefits he might have received from its success. He publicly vowed not to run for President so that those in the opposing political party, whose participation was so essential, would not distrust his vision and motivation, and in order to have the best hope of their embracing his vision as apolitical. His vision for the rebuilding of Europe caused him to persuade American politicians and businessmen to make huge contributions that they were not prepared to make and which they often resisted. I am convinced that both of these leaders were successful because they made their vision contagious, and persuaded others who were not natural allies that it was apolitical and for the benefit of people. Their persuasion was not only rhetoric but driven, I am convinced, by pure motives. Their persuasion involved instilling confidence in something bigger than themselves.

The post Statesmen Drawing the Politicians into the Vision appeared first on CENTRE FOR STATECRAFT.