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Source: (consider it)
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Thread: Who's now the leader of the free world?
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Og: Thread Killer
Ship's token CN Mennonite
# 3200
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Posted
Leader of the Free World?
Some times it's everybody and also sometimes it's somebody else but mostly it's whoever is trending on Twitter or in Facebook right now.
Apparently David Silva is in the top 10 as I type this but I suspect this will change.
[ 24. March 2017, 20:23: Message edited by: Og: Thread Killer ]
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I wish I was seeking justice loving mercy and walking humbly but... "Cease to lament for that thou canst not help, And study help for that which thou lament'st."
Posts: 5025 | From: Toronto | Registered: Aug 2002
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bib
Shipmate
# 13074
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Posted
I think that I would have to vote for the Dalai Lama at this stage. There is so much corruption in high places and in all countries that the Dalai Lama seems to be the most worthy of admiration.
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"My Lord, my Life, my Way, my End, accept the praise I bring"
Posts: 1307 | From: Australia | Registered: Oct 2007
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Bishops Finger
Shipmate
# 5430
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Posted
Or possibly Michelle Obama.
OK, I'll get me coat......
IJ
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Our words are giants when they do us an injury, and dwarfs when they do us a service. (Wilkie Collins)
Posts: 10151 | From: Behind The Wheel Again! | Registered: Jan 2004
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Seedsower
Apprentice
# 18754
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Posted
What exactly is meant by the term "free world" anyway? What country is totally free? We are all governed/controlled by overpaid politicians (some more corrupt than others) who are too busy looking after their interests to show their faces in there own towns except when election time comes around. ![[Confused]](confused.gif)
Posts: 5 | From: UK | Registered: Mar 2017
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Kwesi
Shipmate
# 10274
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Posted
Seedsower quote:
What exactly is meant by the term "free world" anyway?
I agree. The term "free world" seems to me a somewhat passe concept, relating to the ideological conflict of the cold war in which international issues were simplified by the struggle between NATO and the Warsaw Pact. De-colonisation and the emergence of new significant political and economic powers, such as India and China, have produced a multi-polar world that has replaced the post-1945 model. I would prefer the term "Free World" to be replaced by "The West", a more geographically and politically limited concept.
As to who should lead the West, I don't think someone like Michelle Obama is at all suitable because she lacks the political experience and has no track record. It's a job that needs to be done by a politician. I can't think much beyond Angela Merkel, though her power in Germany is seemingly on the wane. Really, leadership of the West can only be effectively provided by the President of the United States, so that when he/she is not up to the job the West is rudderless. That, I guess, is where the West now finds itself.
Posts: 1641 | From: South Ofankor | Registered: Sep 2005
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Alan Cresswell
Mad Scientist 先生
# 31
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Kwesi:
I would prefer the term "Free World" to be replaced by "The West", a more geographically and politically limited concept.
Though, it leaves the problem of where to place Japan, and possibly Australia and New Zealand.
Japan certainly sits with Western Europe, US and Canada in economic terms, and on the front line with N Korea, China and also Russia (hence the large number of US military bases there).
I don't think there really are many terms that can be accurately used of a subset of nations. "Free world" is problematic, "the West" equally so for different reasons.
I would also add that if you were to define "Free World" as democracies you would a) need to further define that since as normally understood the Free World would exclude a lot of democratic nations (in part because their versions of democracy are even worse than ours), and b) the concept of a "leader" is pretty much worthless.
Democracies elect individuals and parties to take on essential administrative roles on behalf of the electorate (MPs and equivalent are representatives of their constituencies, not leaders thereof). We look for people to have vision for where the country can go, but ultimately it's the people who decide. Besides which, even if our elected representatives could be described as "leaders", there's no way that someone elected in one country has any mandate to represent people who had no part in the election process. If it's so essential to have a "leader of the free world" then I would want an election for that person with all citizens of whichever countries are in that "free world" having an equal vote. Even the EU, which at least has some mechanisms for EU wide elections, doesn't have a leader in any realistic sense.
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Don't cling to a mistake just because you spent a lot of time making it.
Posts: 32413 | From: East Kilbride (Scotland) or 福島 | Registered: May 2001
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Kaplan Corday
Shipmate
# 16119
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Garden Hermit:
My best example of Leadership is Aung San Suu Kyi
Rohingya Muslims might have something to say about that.
Posts: 3355 | Registered: Jan 2011
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Kwesi
Shipmate
# 10274
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Posted
Alan Cresswell quote:
... but ultimately it's the people who decide.
Which people?
Posts: 1641 | From: South Ofankor | Registered: Sep 2005
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Martin60
Shipmate
# 368
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Kaplan Corday:
quote:
Originally posted by Garden Hermit:
My best example of Leadership is Aung San Suu Kyi
Rohingya Muslims might have something to say about that.
Well said KC. She's a disgrace.
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Love wins
Posts: 17586 | From: Never Dobunni after all. Corieltauvi after all. Just moved to the capital. | Registered: Jun 2001
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Alan Cresswell
Mad Scientist 先生
# 31
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Kwesi:
Alan Cresswell quote:
... but ultimately it's the people who decide.
Which people?
In a less than perfect manner, those people who are entitled to vote.
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Don't cling to a mistake just because you spent a lot of time making it.
Posts: 32413 | From: East Kilbride (Scotland) or 福島 | Registered: May 2001
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Garden Hermit
Shipmate
# 109
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Posted
I think we have proved that no-one is good enough to fill the position. It will have to stay vacant for another year then. (sigh)
Posts: 1413 | From: Reading UK | Registered: May 2001
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Bishops Finger
Shipmate
# 5430
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Posted
As long as that ?
![[Help]](graemlins/help.gif)
IJ
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Our words are giants when they do us an injury, and dwarfs when they do us a service. (Wilkie Collins)
Posts: 10151 | From: Behind The Wheel Again! | Registered: Jan 2004
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Kwesi
Shipmate
# 10274
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Posted
Alan Cresswell quote:
Alan Cresswell
... but ultimately it's the people who decide.
Kwesi: Which people?
Alan Cresswelll: In a less than perfect manner, those people who are entitled to vote.
Can you give some examples of which people decide what? Who decide who shall be a prime minister or president? Who decide who the candidates shall be in a parliamentary election? Who decide what the level of taxation shall be? Who decide the level of welfare benefits? Who decide the level of agricultural subsidies? Who decide whether or not to go to war? Who decide the terms of a referendum? Who decide the electoral system?
I don't see how most of these decisions are taken by "the people entitled to vote" in a proximate or ultimate sense.
Posts: 1641 | From: South Ofankor | Registered: Sep 2005
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