[April 15, 2015] One of the many struggles of a leader is the challenge to overcome problems created by emotion. By that I mean that people have motivations that can create trouble and disruption. Specifically addressed here is the emotion of hate; the power of hate of other people and hate of different ideas. We don’t see this talked about much because the subject can be taboo if religion, politics, national origin, or ethnicity is involved.
A recent article in the American Legion Magazine by Paul Glader, makes some good points about the rise of the power of hate in Europe and the threat this movement is imposing on their citizens.1 He believes the origin of this hate is predominantly from extremist nationalist ideologies; Neo-Nazi, radical Islam are just two examples. I agree with his main point that traditional dominant political parties shy away from discussing immigration. He goes on to write that a vacuum has been created that allows extreme ideologies to flourish.
Is this a leadership challenge? Of course the answer is “yes” but the real question is, “is extremism (read as the power of hate) truly on the rise in Europe?” If so, “what is the solution?” These are two very important questions that he attempts to answer. First, he does believe there is a rise in extremism in Europe and the media reporting would seem to confirm it – although I’m not so sure. Second, he seems to believe that it is the government’s job to lead programs and encourage others to fight extremism with non-violent means (like training on empathy skills).
A fine article and he is to be thanked for bringing up the subject of the power of hate in modern societies. The final point in his article – the last sentence – is that “what is unreasonable is the rise of fascist groups … that tend to demonize immigrants.” Where I disagree is that he puts the fear of immigration as the main cause of the problem from “extreme right” groups. To me, immigration is not the cause but just another symptomatic indicator of the failure of modern societies to adapt to the dynamics of a world of instant communication and inexpensive movements of people.
What to be done about immigration and a myriad of other social dynamics requires more creative ways to overcome them; our politicians have shown that they are not experienced to handle this well. Western nations are on the cusp of a re-look at how they function and who is best to make such judgments. We have a long way to go before the vacuum of leadership pushes back on the power of hate. Until societies are more flexible and resilient, no amount of political talk about immigration or ideologies will do us much good.
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[1] The Power of Hate by Paul Glader http://www.legion.org/magazine/226568/power-hate