By PROUT
As the campaign period nears for the national elections in May 2022 and as candidates position themselves as the ones deserving to get elected, we should not lose focus on the importance of character. We have said this before but we cannot say it often enough.
“It is character through which leadership is exercised, it is character that sets the example.” So wrote Peter Drucker, described as “the founder of modern management.” He also said that, while leaders can learn many things after assuming a leadership position, character is one thing that cannot be learned in office–this must have been developed long before.
We shoul take time to study the character of our candidates.
Have they been linked to criminal activities in the past?
Have they been convicted of any crime?
Have they committed violent acts or even killed before?
Have they been caught lying about anything, including misrepresentations about their education?
Have they stolen from public funds or benefitted from ill-gotten wealth?
Do they live luxurious lives amid the suffering of ordinary Filipinos?
Do they engage in vices that do not make them good examples to the people they want to serve?
A position of leadership, especially one that bestows a lot of power, can have a corrupting influence. It is character that gives one the strength to resist temptations. We want people with character (or integrity, or moral uprightness, as we prefer to call it) as leaders.
And we want them to lead collectively so if some get corrupted in office, the majority will be there to check them. We should be able to discern who among the candidates have, aside from good character, the willingness and capacity to adopt collective leadership in office. One who can build consensus rather than be dictatorial.
Who said choosing the next president would be easy?. (To be continued next week.)
