Course Pages
Leadership - Section 7
Conclusion & Next Steps
Be a leader.
What you and I do matters.
We are Equal and
we are Similar and
we are Different.
You and I appeared in this world in an instant, when two cells joined.
Your and my creation event happened exactly the same way,
as did the creation event of every human who was, is, or will be.
One cell from your mother
and one from your father
joined in an instant
and you began.
Your mother had a specific number of special cells, or eggs as we call them,
and these cells, including the one that made you
were already in her body, while she was in her mother's womb!
Your father made lots of cells over his life, or as we call them, seeds,
and one of them was you
which was given to your mother.
There are countless combinations of these eggs and seeds,
but only one which made you.
You are unique and special.
This creation event was the same for me
and every other human being who ever was, who is, and who will be.
Each of us came into the world in a unique moment in time and place in space.
Each of us are made up mostly of stardust.
Each of your cells is a collection of unique particles
created eons ago somewhere in space, inside a star.
Somehow, they came together here on earth, and here you are.
Amazing!
At some point in the future, you and I, all of us, will leave this existence.
Where we go and what happens after this life is a wonderful mystery
which is discussed in many different religious traditions.
I don’t know for sure if your experience of the world is the same as mine
or is different somehow.
However, from my over seventy years of life experience and study,
it sure looks like you and I are alike in many, many ways.
The biology of our bodies is almost exactly the same,
as are our many basic needs, such as nutrition, water and shelter from the elements.
We each also have similar levels of social needs and even as adults,
need others to survive and prosper.
There are differences in our individual experiences.
My over two billion moments, or seconds, of life are uniquely my own.
However, many of our general circumstances are similar.
We both began as a single cell created by a male and a female,
needed a gestation period within our mothers,
and needed someone to care for us in our early years.
We each aged, grew, learned to talk, walk and care for ourselves.
We have the same basic biological functions of digestion of food and removal of waste,
blood flow, breathing, sleeping and waking, sight, sound and taste.
We learned about the world around us, and experienced day and night,
rain and sunshine, cold and warm, pain and pleasure.
We have so much in common,
even those of us who live in very different parts of the world.
Yet I do not know if your consciousness and free will
are exactly the same as mine or are different somehow.
I filter the world through the lens of my life experiences.
I appear to have the ability to make choices, within certain limits.
You and I can never get inside each other’s worlds entirely.
But we are very, very much the same, despite our small differences,
such as skin color, size, personal preferences and tastes,
athletic, intellectual and other skills, and some of our beliefs.
There are also some with greater differences,
such as those with physical challenges in sight,
hearing or other physical attributes,
as well as those with serious mental challenges.
We are human beings.
In general, and in the vast majority of our physical, mental and emotional characteristics,
we are all almost exactly the same.
This is particularly true in comparison to the many other living
and nonliving things on the earth and throughout the universe.
Paradise and Life
In the religious tradition into which I was born, Judeo-Christian,
God placed humans in paradise, which is here on earth.
At a critical moment in this creation story
humans gain the knowledge of right and wrong or good and evil.
I don’t know how my consciousness came about.
I don’t completely understand free will.
However, I know that I am conscious and have free will.
Other animals seem to still live and exist in paradise.
Within groupings, or species, they work individually and together
to survive and prosper.
While some do compete for domination in mating rituals and fights,
they do it with the intent and purpose of flourishing.
There is no other species which kill and injure its own kind randomly like humans do.
There are some species where groups compete for food and habitat.
Humans did this in their early phase of development.
The good in you and I is like the drive to flourish and prosper in animals and plants.
It is found in all life forms.
You and I, all of us, have it in us to become excellent moral humans,
to lead our own lives ethically,
and be leaders for others.
Every one of us has built into us, our animal and human nature,
the ability to do what is morally right and good,
grounded in reason and love.
We know that we, you and I, are equal to every other person.
Every human is of equal value.
We all have a special form of love.
It is a love of our life, the drive and desire to exist,
to continue existence and to flourish and be happy.
We have built into us a love for every other human,
a love which is the same as our love for self.
It is our love for our species and our collective survival and prospering.
The knowledge that we need other humans
and our love for other humans
is built into our nature;
it is instinctive.
We live on a planet which is a paradise.
There are more than enough resources for all of us,
enough food, water, clothing, and shelter.
Every human is of equal value.
Every human has an equal right to live.
This is the very foundation of our universe.
The goal of the study of ethics and of ethical leadership is human happiness and flourishing.
If we can come together to make positive change, what a wonderful world it will be.
Imagine the happiness we can bring to others and ourselves.
I am sure that Louis Armstrong saw firsthand the needless human hatred found in world,
growing up in American during the last age of severe racism.
Yet in his words you can find hope for the world.
Evolution and Religion
Very often the theory of evolution has carried with it this notion of the survival of the fittest.
Modern history is full of people taking that notion
and using it to commit unethical acts.
The theory of evolution basically states that those species, or members of a species,
that have adaptations to fit a changing environment, will survive.
The reproduction of life is not the process of making exact copies.
Rather, every reproduction, be it an animal or plant, is uniquely its own.
At the simplest level of difference,
every living thing is made from different atoms and molecules.
On occasion, the particles, molecules or cells of reproducing life can vary dramatically.
There is an apparent randomness to it
within the confines of the needs for life of the individual living organism.
Human survival and evolution appear to be at a higher level than most living things
because we are more able to adapt to changing conditions.
However, there are limits.
If some event stripped the earth of its oxygen, we would most likely cease to exist.
Large scale climate change due to a volcanic eruption,
shift in atmospheric conditions leading to drought,
or other major environmental calamities
could wipe out a large portion of humans.
Humans need to come to the realization that
it is not through competition that we have become the dominate species on earth,
but rather through cooperation.
As hunters and gathers we worked together in small groups to survive.
As we developed agriculture, we became farmers and built civilizations together.
The great empires created frameworks of systems of governance,
roads, infrastructure and safety within which we could cooperate and flourish.
It was in the competition between empires that we saw suffering and decline come about.
The two world wars of the twentieth century
were the highest example of the human pain inflicted through competition.
They are also a warning sign of the future downfall of humanity,
unless we can evolve to a model of global cooperation.
The developing environmental crisis of global warming is looming heavily over us.
In many countries, the competitive spirit, both politically and economically,
is leading humanity on a path of self-inflicted global destruction.
Those leading the destructive effort
are willing to ignore the scientific facts in their quest to win
and sadly, are heading for a species-suicidal end.
To quote and old Native American Indian proverb
“Only when the last tree has died, the last river has been poisoned,
the last fish has been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.”
Changing the World
Leaders can change the world.
What drives a leader to make change can be a complex matter,
but there are some common threads, such as drive or passion about an issue.
As a leader, you can make the world a better place.
You can do it by the example of leading your own life ethically,
or acting ethically in formal leadership roles.
Leadership comes from the heart,
from a commitment to yourself and your human family, near and far.
There are so many different ways you can lead.
Exercise
What are you passionate about?
Is there a social issue that is related to your passion
If so, how could you get involved with that issue?
How could you try to get others passionate about your issue and join you?
As you finish this course on leadership,
I want to share two videos with you related to change.
The first is the famous Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s “I have a Dream Speech”.
Leadership and change have a cost, which he paid.
The second is a lesser-known speech by Robert Kennedy,
who also paid the price for trying to change the world.
It doesn’t need to be this way. It is up to you and I, each and every one of us.
Competition versus Cooperation
From an historic or evolutionary point of view, it could be argued
that our survival as a species has always been dependent on our ability to adapt.
Humans have become the dominant species because of this ability.
Nature is very competitive.
It may have been that an authoritarian style of leadership,
the survival of the fittest, was necessary for us to reach the level we have attained.
For most of human history,
dictatorships were the model of governance of civilizations and communities.
In the modern era, democracies have emerged as the primary form of government.
With so many of us on the planet, our survival is now dependent on adaptation again.
Cooperation must replace competition as the primary method of social organization. Leadership must evolve to create this change.
Leaders must work in the best interest of their followers.
The interplay and dynamics of leadership and followers is now global.
Leaders must now take into account the global impact of their actions.
They must develop a global perspective
because their followers are residents on this planet,
and it is the only place in the universe we are able to survive.
As you go forward in life, I wish you joy, happiness and a flourishing life.
I hope you were inspired by the course.
I hope you will find happiness and spread it.
I hope you will be a great leader!!!
