The Little People are not the ‘Little People’

By | October 24, 2018

[October 24, 2018]  Today’s article is not about the reality show, Little People, Big World.  While I’m a fan of the show and especially the star Matt Roloff , I am looking at ‘little people’ in a different way.   Leaders often see people who are nowhere close to their power level as little people or perhaps a better word is invisible.

The lack of humility is a character flaw.  It’s a defect of anyone who sees others as beneath them or simply deserving of contempt.  I wrote here in the past that many leaders don’t have a clue about the benefits of humbleness.1  This may come as a surprise that any leader would have failed to learn this lesson long ago but alas we continue to see leaders looking down their noses at others.

It is not okay to have contempt for others.  I was appalled during the most recent U.S. presidential election to see the presidential candidates demean and slam the working person who just wants to have a job, respect, a family, and good friends.  The objective of many of their talking points was that you, the common folk, are a victim and you need my help.  How disrespectful such an attitude?

I was reminded of an elderly lady who drove a school bus to my junior high school in Bastrop, Louisiana.  Her name was Bambi.  She yelled at us unruly kids as we sang and shouted our way while riding on her bus.  Occasionally she had to stop the bus and threaten a few of the most boisterous kids but we all laughed.

No one respected her.  My peers took our cue from the junior high principle who disparaged Roxy in front of us every time our bus arrived late; that was most days.  Leadership today means treating even the most vulnerable person with dignity and respect.  The principal didn’t do it and neither did we.

Bambi treated me well despite how she was treated and I learned one of the most valuable lessons of my life when she helped me recover my lost chemistry textbook one day.  I learned that no matter how insignificant a person may be to you, they are valuable as a person and they might actually help you.  The little people are not really the little people.

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  1. https://www.theleadermaker.com/humility-dont-clue/
Author: Douglas R. Satterfield

Hello. I provide one article every day. My writings are influenced by great thinkers such as Friedrich Nietzsche, Karl Jung, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Jean Piaget, Erich Neumann, and Jordan Peterson, whose insight and brilliance have gotten millions worldwide to think about improving ourselves. Thank you for reading my blog.

22 thoughts on “The Little People are not the ‘Little People’

  1. Mr. T.J. Asper

    I am also a big fan of Little People, Big Word. Sometimes I think they are mistreated but always have a positive attitude and outgoing demeanor. Perhaps that is why I like it so much. Your main point about not treating people like they are little people is well taken.

    Reply
  2. Albert Ayer

    I think that disrespect (and that is what you’re writing about) is less today than ever before but we hear and read about it more. Plus people are much more sensitive, weak minded, and impatient. These are just what I see and there are more, I”m sure. Another worthy blog post today.

    Reply
  3. Ronny Fisher

    There are many today who expect everything to be given to them because … just fill in the blank for a reason. They are also the same who expect the government to solve their problems. Sounds a lot like the “caravan” coming up from South America. This is what the world has come to and if you disagree, then you are trashed and considered a low life. I liked your article today, Gen. Satterfield. Thank you.

    Reply
  4. Yusaf from Texas

    Good article today. It is worth it to be reading your blog today while all my team members are out to lunch and goofing around. I’m actually trying to read and study to make myself better.

    Reply
  5. Eric Coda

    “Bambi?” No wonder she was not given any respect with a name like that. I wonder how that name came about? It doesn’t comport with the job.

    Reply
  6. Terri Issa

    If there are no “little people”, there is no need for leaders.

    As far as politicians are concerned, almost all political party officials are equal in “looking down” on others. Once elected to higher office, they really only care about retaining said position and climbing to a higher position.

    Reply
  7. Forrest Gump

    Very good article today on another overlooked subject. Thanks Gen Satterfield for making my day.

    Reply
    1. Lynn Pitts

      You’re right. Results matter most. But how they get those results also matter just as much. Good achievements must be gotten only through moral behavior.

      Reply
  8. Tony B. Custer

    Name calling is as old as people have lived on this Earth and language began. Get over it. I like to see our politicians actually do something. Results of their work is what counts.

    Reply
  9. Big Al

    Yes, while politicians are the ones who publicly put others down and show disrespect, this will never change until there is a cultural shift away from the “give me more” mentality.

    Reply
  10. Max Foster

    Flyover country
    Deplorables
    People with guns and religion
    … and on and on it goes, while past-Pres Obama, Hillary Clinton, and a host of politicians and their cheerleaders in the media continue to insult and put us down. If you don’t fall in lockstep with them, you are the ‘little people’ deserving of no respect.

    Reply
    1. Danny Burkholder

      Great comment Max. I live in “flyover country” and couldn’t be more proud. I work hard, pay taxes, and vote.

      Reply
    2. Willie Shrumburger

      Liberalism is a mental disorder. That’s why we see them saying such things. How horrific that our great nation has fallen so low.

      Reply
  11. Drew Dill

    30 years ago when I began my leadership journey (I didn’t call it that at the time), I experienced most senior leaders who looked down upon us ‘pions.’ Just like many federal politicians today (Hillary Clinton comes to mind) they look down on us, call us names and disparage us (‘deplorables’), etc. That is more than a lack of character but of a sick mind.

    Reply
    1. Ronny Fisher

      Agreed, we see senior leaders being much more humble today than in the past. Thanks Drew.

      Reply
  12. Army Captain

    My mother scrubbed floors to earn enough to help me go to college and eventually an Army officer. Both my parents were hard workers but they never looked down on others. That’s the two lessons I gained from them.

    Reply

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