Her savage conscience/
Is like an invasive weed/
That
roots out evil.
Octavia E. Butler (1947-2006)
I always think about the brilliant Octavia Butler during this time of year--she died on February 24, six years ago. I have, in the past, posted passages from her works--especially her speculations on leadership. It seems as if folks are in the mood to ruminate--on local leadership, on the fate of Muhlenberg hospital, and on the future of the PMUA. I think very seriously about all the issues that come before the council. Here are my favorite Butler quotes, once again.
"Choose
your leaders with wisdom and forethought. To be led by a coward is to
be controlled by all that the coward fears. To be led by a fool is to be
led by the opportunists who control the fool. To be led by the thief is
to offer up your most precious treasures to be stolen. To be led by a
liar is to ask to be lied to. To be led by a tyrant is to sell yourself
and those you love into slavery."
"All
struggles are essentially power struggles. Who will rule? Who will
lead? Who will define, refine, confine, design? Who will dominate? All
struggles are essentially power struggles,and most are no more
intellectual than two rams knocking their heads together."
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