Consider the kind of leader you want
To the Editor:
Consider this case study in trust: A meteorologist reports the track of a category 2 hurricane, explaining that it will not come close to the U.S. mainland. It will, she says with confidence, curve to the north Atlantic without making landfall and “disappear.”
She says that any impact at all will be no worse than a summer rain Her clear, confident language convinces those who listen to her forecasts to not prepare. Privately, she says to her coworker that the storm will hit the East Coast as a monster Category 5 storm. She explains later that she did not tell the real projection to her viewers to avoid creating a “panic.” Later that week, the storm makes landfall on the Southeast coast of the U.S., kills many people, impoverishes workers, disrupts education and forces businesses to close. Would you ever trust this person’s reporting again?
America, we have a decision to make about those who ask us to trust them to lead, again. Will it be the guy telling us that coronavirus is just a hoax while admitting privately that he knows better?
Charlotte W. Collins
Sapphire
