Dignity and leadership
From my corner of the world this past week or so, I have witnessed raw grief, quiet sorrow, and naked ambition, and it has me contemplating the place of dignity in our life these days.
The death of Queen Elizabeth II brought quiet sorrow to her family, obviously, and to those in the world beyond who feel some connection to her as queen or as woman.
The election of Pierre Poilievre as the newest leader of the Conservative Party of Canada brought joy to his supporters and trepidation to those of us leery of populist politicians. In his words and on his face during his acceptance speech, I heard and saw a naked ambition that will fuel his run to be Canada’s next Prime Minister.
I know that colonialism seeded the violence on the James Smith Cree Nation. I know that the role of the monarchy in 21st century Canada needs to be considered and discussed. I know that anyone running for office must have a measure of ambition and a good dose of confidence, even ego, in order to sustain the effort of the campaign. However, I also know that true leaders have an inherent dignity that shines, maybe especially, at times of great victory or great sorrow.
Whether the leadership role is elected or inherited, the person holding the role is most impressive to me when they demonstrate a core sense of decency and decorum, the supporting pillars of dignity. Call me old fashioned, but those are important behaviours in my book. The elders of James Smith Cree Nation have demonstrated them. The Queen certainly lived by them. The new PC leader would be wise to acquaint himself with them.
Land acknowledgement: I respectfully recognize that I live on the original lands of Anishinaabe, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota and Dene peoples, and on the homeland of the Métis Nation.
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons. The Queen never left home without her iconic handbag.
Britain, with its new Prime Minister, espouses greed, Sweden is of great concern, the UCons in Alberta and now Pierre Poilievre is of the same mind set. The greed and lack of concern for others is the very opposite of decency and dignity. I despair.
ReplyDeleteI tried to respond to your email Amanda, to two of your email addresses, but it comes back "undeliverable".
ReplyDeleteA Québec deputy resigned from Conservative party following the victory of PP as new chief because his convictions were irreconcilable with those of this chief.
ReplyDeleteInstead of thanking him for his years of work in the party, PP is very mean and agressive toward the deputy. There is lack of decency and dignity in his treatment of this person. Not a good start.
Danielle