Think About It

I believe that, throughout the years, we have developed a rather romantic view of the beginning of our nation. While there were inspirational characters who were willing to risk all they had for freedom, there were a lot more common folks who needed to be convinced that revolting against the king (and their ancestry) was a good idea. I am sure that the zealous revolutionaries could have used their power to spark the rebellion, but was that the best way to recruit and prepare people to sign-on to the cause? As I read some correspondence the other day from General George Washington, I was intrigued by his take, “… a people unused to restraint must be led, they will not be drove.”. In other words, to gather buy-in most people are more likely to respond to inspiration through leadership than compulsion by intimidation. In all honesty, the older I get the more I see the wisdom in Washington’s observation. While this has been quite evident in the recent pandemic, the proof has been ar