Some of what I’ve learned about leadership I learned from my horse. His name is Captain Bob, I usually call him Captain, or Seren, which is Captain in Hebrew. I got a really, really good deal on him. And not long after I got him home I found out why I got a really, really good deal on him. He weighs in at around 1,300 lbs and stands a bit over 16 hands. Good size lad. Handsome too, did I mention very handsome? Well, he is. I do not weigh 1,300 lbs (usually) and am a fair bit shorter, but I want to be at least a Colonel, and preferably a General in his eyes. I want to be the leader of the team. And this is where resolve comes in. For me to allow my idea to become his idea and get us to do what I want as a team, I need to be resolved. I need to see the situation clearly for what it is. Ok, a hoof flying at your head is not hard to interpret. Think 15 year old with a bad attitude flipping you off. He’s better now. But don’t call it “youthful exuberance”. It is not. By the same token when I point my finger and he walks into a trailer nonchalantly that means something big too. But you need to speak and understand “equine” to know what it means.
I have sat back and watched the horror in France known as the Charlie Hebdo massacre, followed by the Hyper Cacher murders. The whole world was outraged? Hardly. In fact in some parts of the world their “sorrow” was expressed by a parade. For the killers.
So, lets look at a few world leaders.
Let’s start with Bibi and his response to the atrocities in France.
At the Grande Synagogue in Paris Bibi Netanyahu is inundated with shouts of “Bibi! Bibi!” and shouts of “help us!” in Hebrew. No word if anyone was hollering for a “free Bibi-phone” and my Hebrew isn’t that good yet. Well actually, it is and they didn’t.
France didn’t show itself in the best light shall we say during the visit. First the Prime Minister of Israel was not invited to attend the solidarity march for world leaders. Perhaps France hasn’t noticed there is a country of Israel? After Bibi said he was coming, France then invited Mahmud Abbas. While French President Francois Hollande was chilly to Bibi, he seemed all BFFs (yes, I did mean that) with Abbas. Both Abbas and Hollande left the Synagogue when Bibi got up to speak.
But France doesn’t only fail in manners, it fails in organization and security. For some strange reason, the bus that was to take Bibi and his security detail to the march was running quite late.
His response as he is made to wait for bus? He and his detail remain alert, and just do what they gotta do. Although, when Bibi got on the phone I did kind of wonder if he was calling in a air strike on Hollande’s house.
Then we get to the march itself. According to Arutz Sheva
At first, he finds himself in the second row of heads of state – either on purpose or for some other reason. He then apparently decides to move into the first row – and does so by approaching the president of Mali, Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, from behind, introducing himself and simultaneously sliding into place next to him.
Bibi, as a leader, shows resolve. He passes. He is doing what he needs to do to represent his country, and her people.
Abbas, now Abbas. Interestingly, Abbas took heat at home for going, according to Arutz Sheva
Mahmoud a-Zahar, a top Hamas terrorist in Gaza, slammed Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas for participating in the anti-terror rally in Paris Sunday. A-Zahar called Abbas “hypocritical” for participating in the event.
“The participation of Abbas in this event is part of the hypocrisy and political acrobatics that Abbas commonly participates in,” a-Zahar said. “Abbas wants to show that he can fight terror, but he does not even know the meaning of terror.”
And that’s coming from a terrorist. It’s not that Abbas is enlightened or wants to sing Kumbaya, Abbas is a holocaust denier who did not condemn the attack on the Hyper Cacher Kosher Grocery. He’s not standing for anything firm, he’s being a Politician. He does not show resolve.
Abbas=Fail.
I think we’ve already kind of covered France’s Hollande. He has been unwilling to keep a entire segment of his population safe from another segment of his population because it might offend their tender sensibilities.. as my Uncle would have said. I would say hurt their little feelings. As he and French law keeps law abiding subjects disarmed this is even more critical. So what to do when you know the leader of your country will not keep you and your kin folk safe?
This one is better than words. BETAR!!! You’ll enjoy this one.
Yeah, Hollande=fail.
So, now we come to barry. It seems the White House didn’t realize the march was going to be a big deal. I mean, after all, barry did say “The future must not belong to those who slander the prophet of Islam.” in a speech to the U.N. He just didn’t specify that the future wouldn’t belong to them because they would be, well, dead. Seems barry didn’t know about the march, according to aides, they didn’t mention it to him since it wasn’t a big deal. I guess if he had known it was a big photo op, he would have gone. That’s how it works when you don’t have an actual sense of right and wrong. So what to do, what to do?
Well, let’s see. You could announce on January 11th that barry will host a “Summit on Countering Violent Extremism“, since he’s not in Paris for the march. That will show you are a serious world leader. Mind you, not a summit on violent Islamic Extremism. He seems to sort of avoid saying that. Hmm, needs more cowbell, so what else can you do? Ahhh, cowbell, yes, that’s the clue. Send John Kerry with James Taylor to France. To sing “You’ve Got a Friend”. It sends all of France a “big hug”. Seriously.
We have to wake up and call this what it is – not generic ‘terror,’ but Islamic terror that is hitting us with full force.”~~Naftali Bennett
To have resolve, you have to KNOW what you are facing, you have to ADMIT what you are facing. Until you do there is no way to work out actual solutions. You will not solve a hoof flying at you by giggling and saying “oh, he’s just exuberant, isn’t he cute?”.
Barry doesn’t have the first clue about resolve, well, perhaps when it comes to “fundamentally transforming…”. But to protecting America’s citizens? Protecting America’s Constitution by not selling it out the the U.N.?
Barry=Fail.
Now this is just sad, you want to know what RESOLVE looks like?
In case you want to help, anonymous is going after the Twitter accounts.
— OpCharlieHebdo (@OpCharlieHebdo) January 9, 2015
Do you want to help us ? Find terrorists twitter profiles, report them. #No2IS #JeSuisCharlie #OpCharlieHebdo #CharlieHebdo #StopDonkyLovers
A conversation a week or so ago about terrorism got me to thinking about resolve. The opinion was expressed that rather than the Israeli military flying exercise mission, each flight will try to find a terrorist camp. Rather than not bombing missile launching sites because it is a school, they will be bombed. The world is never going to “love” Israel, and trading land for peace isn’t working, being sensitive to world opinion isn’t working as evidenced by the number of wars since her birth. That resolve is needed, resolve to do what is necessary to keep her people safe and stop the cycle of war> win> give away> be attacked.
As I face paths in life, forks in the road, I find that it seems “resolve” really does play a huge role in how a path is chosen. If I (and I can only speak for myself) lack the resolve to see a battle for what it is, call it what it is, take stock of assets and liabilities, and make a plan then what realistic chance of success is there? I think this pretty much applies to leaders of groups, politics, nations and their leaders. If they lack the resolve to see the battle through, we all pay the price.
And if that resolve is not there? Don’t be surprised when you see that hoof come flying at your head for the 53rd time, in a week. Or another Boston bombing, or beheading, or, or, or.
