Between Confucius and Nero … Wisdom triumphs over ignorance

This news has been read 21024 times!

HUMANS are bound by knowledge. A leader is obliged to learn from the lessons of history, because ignorance in those facts is a sin that hits back at him and his people.

For this reason, there are nations that have developed and become capable of reaching the highest levels of development through the wisdom of their leaders.

On the other hand, the failure of those in power to understand what the power of the people means led to diseases that devoured them. Those officials ignored the demands of their people, and soon found themselves facing a flood of rejection that could not be stopped by any method of suppression, rendering those in power to fall.

This is what happened in the ancient Roman kingdoms, in the Middle Ages, and even in modern history when the ruler in Egypt ignored his people and gave them a choice between him and chaos. Millions went out to the squares and yards and demanded his departure. When he tried to seek help from the army, he found the military standing with the people, and eventually he fell by the hands of the people.

The Muslim Brotherhood Group tried to reproduce dictatorship through the state’s monopoly and distribute spoils to members of the guidance office. On June 30, about 30 million Egyptians took to the streets demanding the exclusion of that group from the position of decision. The army also stood on the side of the people and not against them, and the uprising triumphed.

A smart leader is the one who leads his people smoothly to where he wants, listens to the elites, and reflects on the demands that the people present. If they are possible to achieve, he works to meet them, and if he sees them as impossible, he makes it clear to his people the obstacles and negatives that prevent realization of such demands.

Therefore, the authority, irrespective of its form, is an integrated unit of members who are led by a leader who alone bears responsibility for what others do.

When Nero ignored the opinion of the wise men among his people and succumbed to his whims, the people revolted against him, stormed his palace and killed him in his bed.

When Hitler started his Nazi expansionist project, he was not alone, but an integrated entourage of conflicting interests formed the factory of that decision, while the people were absent. For this, Germany paid a very high price.

On the contrary, there are some Arabian Gulf countries in which the rulers were close to their people, listened to them, became aware of their needs, and worked to meet them. Because of this, they were able to avoid the wave of the “Arab Spring” that was intended to remove these regimes. Some even preceded their people to address the causes of the great achievements and were able to come out of the crisis stronger, more united, and with more fusion between the people and the authority.

On the other hand, the deep states in some Arab countries were more powerful when they forced the authority to ignore popular demands, as happened in Iraq, Libya, Tunisia and Lebanon, which led to the ruin of those countries, and an outright divorce between the government and the people.

Daily experiences prove that people do not accept the judgment of the inexperienced who are unable to know what their people are thinking. That is why every bold, just and wise ruler who works with the wisdom of Confucius wins the spoils – “Never has there been a ruler who loves good and whose subjects are unable to love integrity. Also, never have there been people who love integrity unless the affairs of the state proceed successfully”.

By Ahmed Al-Jarallah

Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times

This news has been read 21024 times!