Why is it that most "great" leaders in history also have a lot of blood on their hands? Caesar, Napoleon, FDR, etc... each of them is hailed for their achievements, but to accomplish them, many lives were lost in the process. So is one of the inherent qualifications for being a great "leader" causing lots of death and destruction in the process?
2007-08-14 14:18:19 · 16 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Royalty
No. Ghandi is a case in point
2007-08-17 13:35:49 · answer #1 · answered by klewless 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think it's easier to see the affects of those who lead others into war. It does take a great leader to get others to die for a cause. It's harder to see leadership in other areas. Bill Clinton was a great leader by many other measures, but are not visable since there is no body count.
FDR was a great leader who lead this country out of the depression. And he led this country to defend against the Conservative Facists here and abroad. He is not lauded for the death and destruction. God willing, man will never have to face a time like that again. It took great men such as FDR and Churchill to save the planet.
2007-08-14 14:29:26 · answer #2 · answered by Daniel A 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I think they called them 'Great' because they had 'great' achievements; the term 'great' standing for 'massive' or 'huge'..not necessarily great as in reallyy reaally good... Napoleon was great in getting his people to support him, Alexander had covered a 'Great' (huge) geographical area and so on...
I think an example of a Great Leader would be the late Sheikh Zayed of the United Arab Emirates.. he was not the rich oil-money crazy character many people think of all Arab Leaders.. he was known for his Great Generosity and his Great Heart.. He had continuously donated large fractions of his wealth not only to his people and country but to other coutries: Africa, India, Egypt, Palestine, Yugoslafia, Afghanistan and many others regardless of their race or religion.. he built thousands of homes for divorced/widowed women, orphans and poor families all over the world, in the Lebanon War, in Pakistan, everywhere.. he organized countless Aid organizations all over the world, and mosques and hospitals too such as the Sheikh Zayed Hospital of Egypt..
this is just a lil part of his Great Leadership... every Eid (which is like Christmas for the muslim world) Sheikh Zayed would free all prisoners (with minor crimes, such as check bouncing) from the jails of his land... He would also give all expatriates and locals on his land who are in need, the money and homes and jobs and never denied anyone any request...
Now that is a Great Leader, isnt he :)
2007-08-15 02:05:14 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You forgot my ancestor, Frederick the Great.
But seriously, the wars of history all involved at least two sides: aggressor and defender. Many of the biggest heroes are those who successfully defended against an invasion. Many lives may indeed be lost in the process, but that blood is on the aggressor's hands, not the defender's.
2007-08-14 14:27:51 · answer #4 · answered by auntb93 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The kool aide man - no one else could get as many kids hyped up on sugar and having parties like that when mom and dad are not home. Imagine what mom and dad say when they get home and there is a party in the back with a big hole in the front of the house. Yah right a big fat red man did it.
2007-08-14 14:27:05 · answer #5 · answered by Jason W 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
FDR, Churchill, DeGaulle, Kennedy,MacArthur, Patton. All of these and many more were great leaders. However, with a great leader comes , among other things a man with great flaws. And we mustn't forget to err is to be human, in other words, leaders are just like the rest of us, they are fallable, and will make mistakes.
2007-08-14 14:56:04 · answer #6 · answered by Danielle P 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Great leaders are great defenders of common causes determined by those who made then leaders. unfortunately, defending great causes demands great sacrifice.
Today it seems the only ones that believe in a cause other than the next date are the ones bent on destruction of United States
2007-08-14 14:26:40 · answer #7 · answered by fretochose 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Queen Victoria was also a great leader and accomplished that status without bloodshed.
2007-08-14 14:32:48 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
A great leader is easily defined by;"When all about you are panicked and losing their heads, the leader keeps his and insures those who listen to him do too."
2007-08-14 14:27:04 · answer #9 · answered by Marcus R. 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk: "Peace at home, peace in the world".
2007-08-14 23:39:58 · answer #10 · answered by KaraKiz 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋