Q:Which episode includes a general reading a letter about standing down--demonstrating the power of powerlessness?
Anonymous
Thanks for the question. I’m pretty sure that you’re referring to the philosopher Jacob Needleman talking about George Washington in “The Inward Work of Democracy.” Here’s the excerpted section of the transcript:
“…what stands out in terms of the myth of the character of Washington, what stands out is, of course, the phenomenal fact that he turned away from power. He could have had more power than practically anyone in the world after the Revolutionary War, and he could have been — as one observer had said, he could have been king of America. But he stepped down as the head of the Army and he stepped away from political life, and simply surrendered his power. Very few leaders can you find throughout history who have voluntarily stepped away from power like that. He represents, to me, the sacrifice of one’s own personal egoistic desires for power for the good of the country.”
Is this correct?
~answered by Trent Gilliss, senior editor
1 Notes/ Hide
-
bren-love4life likes this
-
beingblog posted this
