To the editor:
The fact that self-centered and angry individuals with enormous egos obsessed with megalomania, who promote extreme ideologies, are becoming increasingly popular in in efforts to lead nations is a phenomenon of our time that no one can and should ignore. We live in a time with an abundance of information and knowledge, but, unfortunately, its usefulness is not balanced with wisdom. The lack of applied wisdom is substantial, and this may be why the world is currently in a state of aggression induced polarization.
The exaggerated masquerade of those egos with the intention of portraying themselves as the people’s savior feeds on the behavior of those who are fascinated by such masquerading and do not have the ability to distinguish shameless fraud and demagoguery from sincerity, empathy, and honesty. In other words, “If you can’t make it, fake it!” Such thinking is beyond even any tentative approximation of applied wisdom. The blind acceptance of such machinations indicates permanent sleepwalking and ignorance at the highest level.
A well functioning democracy needs well educated and informed voters who know how to distinguish misinformation and underdeveloped conspiracy theories from true facts.
Unfortunately, many modern democracies tend to serve only short-term economic goals rather than the long-term values of the community as a whole, wherein sound arguments and sensible compromises triumph, rather than manipulating systems with the intent to gain a fabricated majority and blind party loyalty.
What the world needs are smarter leaders, not just in the public, but also in the private sector. What the world looks like without wise leaders is already clearly visible around us. The intention to impose extremism, terrorism, narcissism, racism, absolute power, elimination of different thinking, and dictatorial ambitions is generally on the one hand absurd and on the other hand regressive, both politically on the far right and on the far left. We need leaders who can bring the pendulum to the center and keep it there.
Good examples of wise leaders are people like Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and Nelson Mandela. Not only did they benefit from the knowledge they had acquired, but they also translated their wisdom into great compassion. But are these just exceptions, or can we do our own part in creating wise leaders?
Some people use wisdom and intelligence interchangeably. Wisdom, however, is more complex and difficult to define. Wisdom requires the integration of knowledge, experience, and a deep understanding of how to accept and be tolerant of all of life’s ups and downs. Those who have true wisdom know how things develop over time and have a sense of balance. Intelligence may be important, but it alone is not enough without wisdom. Implementing knowledge without wisdom is dangerous and can have destructive effects.
Wise behavior is not only in demand in times of crises and problems, but even more so in less turbulent times in order to substantially decimate the effects of crises or even prevent them. Everything else is just fighting symptoms.
Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom, and, therefore, one must be honest with oneself and others to gain wisdom. You can only learn from your own mistakes if you are honest about them.
Socrates said it best when he said, “True wisdom comes to each of us when we realize how little we understand about life, ourselves, and the world around us.”
Werner Georg Kunz-Cho
New Marlborough
