So far, President Obama's ability to communicate galvanizes people, particularly the young. Many young people crave inspirational leadership because they long for a compass that directs them to reach above their circumstances instead of being swallowed by them.
Obama's power to influence this generation may be the most annoying trait for critics; this may be why the accusation of "messianic" is pasted to him with an apocalyptic wink.
Such criticism forgets that men and women throughout the ages were gifted with voices that spoke to their generation. Sometimes those voices fueled changes that led to massive empowerment. At other times, those voices generated despair and sowed destruction.
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We may all be better served if we study the responses of people to Obama -- consider the crowds in Strasbourg, France today -- and learn something about the hunger for inspirational leadership. It may inform us of the core shift not only in America, but in the world. It may reveal to us our place of crossroads, a term which the city of Strasbourg has as part of its name.
Inspirational leadership in every sector of life is key. The dour news today about the unemployment rate makes me think about the economy. Banks that refuse credit lines to small businesses because they fear going under should revisit their commitment to being "community leaders." Businesses that lay off because of grim economic forecasts should return to their profit-and-loss sheets and choose not to be economic pundits, but human beings who understand they can say nothing when their epitaphs are written. Think of this tombstone message: AS CEO, I KEPT MY ENORMOUS SALARY WHILE MY FORMER WORKERS STRUGGLED TO LIVE.
The progress inspirational leadership brings advances slowly, painfully, and sometimes unseen. It makes this type of leadership problematic for some. But for me, that is what makes inspirational leadership fascinating to watch. The fruit may not blossom for long periods of time, but the words of the leader either feed anger or motivate people to recover. I prefer the power of the latter. As Proverbs says, there are words that can be "fitly spoken."
Obama is flawed like everyone else. History will record his every mistake and misstep. But perhaps something else is at work during the Obama era, if we could but grasp it. Maybe now is an opportunity to point people to the true Messiah, the greatest inspirational leader of them all.
When that inspirational leader saw a man trapped in his circumstances, it was the leader's words that motivated the man to catch a vision of what could be. That inspirational leader said: "Do you want to get well?"
The man gave his reasons why he was still sick. Certainly they were acceptable conclusions for he was plagued with a 38-year condition. But the inspirational leader was after something else, something deep within. With a forceful, healing love I can only imagine, this inspirational and transformational leader said: "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk."
All of us must be inspired to look deep within -- past our frightfully limiting circumstances. All of us must decide now whether we will walk or sit.
Judy Howard Ellis
Links courtesy of msnbc.com, wikipedia.com, cnn,com, biblos.com, studylight.org
