People I Don't Trust #7,519

[alcibiades_mystery]

7519: People Who Post Doting Pictures of Political Candidates

I'll just come out and say it. I don't like leadership. I don't vote for a "leader." I vote for a functionary. I vote for somebody with good judgment who has specialized in the complex workings of government such that he or she can negotiate its difficulties and maybe improve the general welfare. If that person has good ideas that result from smart analysis, that's great too, and I'm happy to hear those proposed. But I don't get involved with "leaders," and - quite frankly - I find the whole leader fetish thing dangerously anti-democratic. And I like democracy.

So, what distinguishes the functionary from the "leader." First and foremost it is an affective relationship that develops between the persons. You love a leader; you love the leader as a person. You never love a functionary, though you could certainly respect one. Your relationship to the functionary is completely externalized: it has nothing to do with the functionary himself or herself. It has to do with what the functionary does and accomplishes. The functionary - and this is, for me, the essence of democracy, could be any person whatsoever. The merit of the functionary is not tied up in their individual personhood (which you never have access to anyway), but in their actual functioning.

So, back to the doting pictures. You might remember "People I Don't Trust #6,809: People Who Use the Term 'Our Leaders' Without Irony." The person who posts the doting pictures of the leader figure is similarly suspect. And I know I'll get a twenty "Nice post, Hitler" responses, but I think when you invest so much affective energy in what is essentially a public job candidate - a functionary - you are giving away the store. We lose democracy not in big events, like Reichstag fires, but in a million small loving embraces of the Fuhrerprinzip. And yes, that includes the utterly weird "family picture" of your "favorite candidate." We've heard a lot about "cult of personality." Well, yes, there's a lot of that going around. If you have a doting image of your candidate anywhere near your signature line, then you love leaders. If you post family portraits of our public job candidates, then you love leaders. If you wax poetic about the very special person who we might decide, as a polity, to hire to perform an important function, then you love leaders.

And it ain't. Fucking. Healthy.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

1. K & R. "We, the people" seem to have forgotten those in government are our employees.

As per the Constitution, they are hired and fired by us. Our employees soooo suck, right now.

[thunder rising]

2. I think you contradict yourself, using the word "leaders" and then generalizin to a single candidate

I have seen plenty of "love Hillary" and "love Obama" but I think only the Republicans use the term "love our leaders". And, the President of the Unites States has the opportunity to be a leader. Some make it, some amount to functionaries. Finally, when a true leader emerges, maybe you could recognize him/her.

[alcibiades_mystery]

3. I don't "generalize" to a "single" candidate at all (whatever that means)

I don't like leaders, "true" or otherwise.

[PermanentRevolution]

4. The Leader is good, the Leader is great!

We surrender our will, as of this date!