Lead, Follow or . . .

The quote from Thomas Paine, ‘Lead, follow or get out of the way’ has been used by everyone from the US Marines to the $300 per hour motivational speakers on the rubber chicken circuit. However, it has seldom been used with more effect than was the case last week on the island of Bali. Some upstart from another little country laid the line on the United States in response to the American reluctance to set goals for carbon emissions reduction. The resounding cheers from the conference participants finally caught the attention of the American delegates.

When you have been the world leader in everything from space technology to military supremacy and economic powerhouse, the thought that a majority of world head honchos do not think you are capable of leading, what is left? The dominance of the US dollar in world trade has been reduced lately, and at the rate the Americans are going further into debt, the dollar may sink lower on the money markets, has to have shaken the Americans. Maybe not the President, but the rest of country that has any inkling of world events.

It is not easy to step aside and follow after you have been the leader. Look at Jean Chrétien. However, when a country with a shoddy record of accomplishment like leading others into Iraq and the inability to lead in repairing their own city of New Orleans or a stubborn denial of science, tries to road-block the rest of the world on climate change, it is time for a change of leaders. And if some little island country has to tell you to get out of the way, maybe it is time to step aside. That you have a yapping pup-dog hanging onto your coattails, as Canada seems wont to do, does not build your case for leadership in the fight against pollution and climate change.

United States has tried to follow an insular policy for most of its existence, reluctantly stepping to the fore only when there was no alternative. This political foreign policy has slowly faded from the days of the First and Second World Wars until the foray into Vietnam, an experience that only served to return the US leaders to their insular thinking. With the end of the Cold War, the Americans found themselves left standing at the front of the line and by default, became the world leader.

However, if you can not or will not lead, get out of the way. In the present instance, it is not a case of capability but of willingness. Citing the economy as the reason for not setting hard goals, rings hollow: Canada, whose economy is booming, uses this excuse; the US, whose economy is faltering, uses the same excuse. If these two north American countries are unwilling, is the real reason that they no longer have the capability to lead? Or perhaps the oil patch is too deeply ingrained in our politics to dare us to lead a change?

Bush seems to prefer to put his hopes in his religion, not science and there are signs that the old Reformers in the Conservative party may suffer from the same malaise. Maybe it is time for someone to stand and shout ‘Lead, follow or get out of the way!’ If, as the science is showing, climate change is a global issue, then we need leaders who will commit to finding solutions.

A similar refreshing rebuff to the buffoon from Venezuela came a few weeks ago as the King of Spain finally told Chavez to sit down and shut up. That Chavez did so, and then showed some thoughtfulness in accepting his electoral defeat a week later, gives some hope that maybe world ‘leaders’ might be listening.

At the local level, we have the same naysayers regarding climate change and the need to reduce pollution. While some are handing out energy-efficient light bulbs, people continue to idle their cars to melt snow and frost off the windows rather than using a little renewable energy and a brush to accomplish the same thing. Public service vehicles are still idling as non-renewable carbon is being used to keep empty cabs warm and cozy or cool and comfy in summer. That private vehicles are doing the same thing tells our leaders that we are not very concerned with climate change and they can lead simply by standing still on the issue.

But hey, this global warming is only going to be a problem for our grandchildren. The latest record snowfall only means that I have to run my gas-powered snow blower a little longer. It has nothing to do with climate change. Really.