I appreciate those that are loyal to a cause or political goal but that can often lead to stupidity when they ignore the basic facts. We can get caught up in the “Cult of Personality” or the need to be part of a certain “political culture” but sometimes we need to escape this world and look at the reality around us. For our support can cause our demise or of the deep seeded values we hold dear. Loyalty can only go so far where it leads us to the point where the leader is the only one who wins. Yet how do we know when it’s time not to drink the “Kool Aid”. Here are a few clues (see below).
(1) Has the leader decided to play from a different playbook (ex constitution) on more then a few occasions that he/she has sworn to uphold. Has this been demonstrated by many court decisions?
(2) Do the policies that this leader has put in effect resulted in the outcome that they predicted or are they blaming others?
(3) Have those that may not share their views with been targeted and/or silenced by the leadership or are there comments and suggestions listened too and respected?
(4) Is your life and those around you actually improved in terms of greater opportunity or is just something that makes you “feel good”?
(5) If you weren’t truly part of this culture could you actually say this persons policies and leadership are truly working?