Both of these readings focused on one thing: the need for change in the ways we think about and practice leadership. I was particularly drawn to Williamson’s essay, specifically when he states that in order to make our democratic framework more inclusive and applicable to our country today “we need to recover the democratic promise of our past, in all its complexity and tragedy. This means engaging with it, not running away from it” (8). Particularly in our most recent history, the failures of democracy make it very tempting to reject our framework and want to start over. However, as Williamson notes, this would be a disservice to our country.
Simply ignoring the history of our country means ignoring not only its failings but the principles it was built upon. While execution was certainly less than perfect, the ideas at the heart of the declaration and foundation of the nation are ones that are still applicable today. And by looking at our history through a critical lens we can the mistakes we’ve made and make efforts to learn from them and fix them. Forgetting the past does us no favors – we must face it, admit our wrongdoings, and improve going forward. As Williamson notes, “democracy is not a form of government that guarantees justice” (7). We must consistently work at improving our framework and molding it to fit our ever-changing modern society.
The quote you mentioned on page 7 also stood out to me. Even though the ideals democracy was founded seem like they would lead to a just society, that clearly is not always the case, so we have to improve our framework to fit our changing society.
The quotes that you mentioned really stuck out in importance to me as well. I really like what you said about the importance of history. If we don’t learn about it, we will never learn from the mistakes that others have made, inevitably causing history to repeat itself. Of course, looking at it through a critical lens is vital, so I really like the point you made there.
I agree with you, the Williamson essay was interesting because it explained the genesis of today’s problems. It addressed the issues we went through in the past and how they continue to affect us today like racism. This again shows the importance of learning about history and how it replays itself. By acknowledging that, we can move forward as a society for the better when it comes to leadership.
As I read Williamson’s article, I also agreed that it is crucial for Americans to learn from history. In order for any progress to take place, we must analyze our past and avoid similar mistakes. By doing this, we can refrain from failures of democracy.
I would also argue that especially with a democracy, it is important to look back on prior mistakes.
I really liked this post and thought you made a series of excellent points. I also thought it was very interesting how the article called for this idea of change and how leaders need to except change or they will perish. They used the example of the high jump to illustrate this point very nicely.
I really like your point about how ignoring the history of our country means ignoring both its failures and principles. Historical commemoration and learning about who writes history was one of the most memorable lessons from this semester and a really important one to apply to leadership.