Why Common Man Cannot Become a LEADER

Human society has always been centred around worshipping. Sometimes nature, sometimes a tree God, a book of knowledge, stone, a sacred place or even a fellow human being. There is always a pursuit of heroism and the common man looks up to someone being a leader. Religions when cannot quench out the natural urge to worship, we turned to be a page-3, celebrity-crazy, paparazzi fueled society. Where icons and ‘role models’ are manufactured, dismantled, re-fabricated and resold gazillion times. And we all humans are just a part of this scheming society. Why a common man cannot become a leader? This question has been heavy on my mind and I went ahead sniffing for answers. The more I tried to solve the riddle, the enigma around the puzzle, perplexed me.

<p class="has-text-align-justify" value="<amp-fit-text layout="fixed-height" min-font-size="6" max-font-size="72" height="80">The term 'common man' itself is very amusing if you have ever paid attention to it. Common + Man. Should I put it that the common thread of capabilities underlying all the humans, which make them equally heroic and equally capable to be a leader. A common denominator for all humanity which gives us our basic core. Yet those, who choose to act differently in different situations add a positive numerator and become fractionally differentiated than the masses.The term ‘common man’ itself is very amusing if you have ever paid attention to it. Common + Man. Should I put it that the common thread of capabilities underlying all the humans, which make them equally heroic and equally capable to be a leader. A common denominator for all humanity which gives us our basic core. Yet those, who choose to act differently in different situations add a positive numerator and become fractionally differentiated than the masses.

Leader Makers

There can be no leader without followers. If I reverse the statement, then, it is the followers that make a leader. A leader who cannot cater to the followers will soon fall. So the first premise I reached early in my journey was that: “Common man is not a leader rather a leader-maker.”

Triumphant Survivor

Leadership itself is a costly affair. You risk your time, personal life, reputation and sometimes the mortal safety to lead, to lend a voice and to make a point. The so-called mute-spectator is the drop with which all the other similar droplets creates the sea of followers on which the mighty Titanic of leader floats, bound to sink one day. Why? Sea has no emotions for the ship, neither the souls travelling on it. All the sea cares is to unite the droplets and carry on with the journey of life. It was under the sea, that the first life on this planet ever breathed. Our drops are united by the journey of ideas on which the leader surfs and enjoys his temporal heroism. It is temporary, as with the progress of the idea, the leader will fall behind and fossilize, in case he tries to overstretch his leadership tenure, he risks falling from the grace of history. Our ‘common man’, again emerges as the ‘ultimate survivor’.

Fading Hero: Uncommon Questions

Our quest for ‘Hero Worshipping’ and upbringing where the common questions included, “Who is your role model? Write 5 things about him/her?” Was there ever a need for a role model? Who were the role models for Adam & Eve? Everybody has his/her own perception and handling of life which makes life a unique experience to everyone, despite the whole world living on the contemporary globe. So, why do humans feel the need to make themselves an assembly-cut mass manufactured-standardised common product? Isn’t nature by design choose every human to be unique? Who invented the term ‘common man’ and to suffice which ideology? The commonality is a basic trait but what we choose to do and actions differentiate us. Why is it normal for the society to define what common and uncommon should portray? Do you really need to buy the jacket promoted by a movie star in an advertisement that came just at the right moment, while watching your favourite T.V. serial? Will that make you special or a common consumer of advertisement responder? Who are you, my dear common man? Why do you take birth, live, breed, manufacture common offsprings, carry on the burden of advertisements while fitting the mould given by society and die uselessly? Why?

Making the World Go Round

Traditions, society, nations, groups, organizations etc. all continue by feeding on conformity and continued patterns. The so-called reforms and revolutions’ are just an adjustment when the scale or depth of the ideology behind the body either changes or change in the demographic statistics of the followers. It is the common man and his obedience which fuels the engines of the world markets, democracies etc. The poor guy toils day and night struggling to meet his needs, watching people on TV living his dream life and trying to console himself with thoughts and quotes on contentment. Ah! the lion who is not just domesticated but can put himself to sleep if the giant awakens inside. The perfect candidate for a company, a democracy, a society and even a revolutionary group. Why? He will toe the line on which he is set upon. He is educated enough to carry out complex tasks and controlled enough to do introspection. At best he’ll introspect within the bounded lines of rationality being taught to him. If he’ll rise against tyranny, he’ll choose a democracy ruled by someone claiming to be his representative. He is revolutionary but at the same time patriot. So, he is just wanting a change in the form and structure of government but is he demanding a change in the relations between humans? Equality and privilege are manufactured false concepts devised for power-redistribution. Is he demanding to live in harmony with people who are more powerful than him and with those who are weaker than him? Conflicts keep the systems running. If there is an end to chaos and conflict, the systems themselves will end. We need a stir and we have the laddle – ‘our Common Man’. He makes the world go round.

Concluding Remarks

Common man bears the burden of life and heroically sacrifices his dreams and ambitions and with ashes of those sacrifices fuels the world order. Be it new or old world order, the fuel is an inescapable necessity. Our common man heroically severs his ambitions in exchange for the security against physical violence, food and shelter. Though many times betrayed, but like a true hero, he carries his duties even beyond his peril while passing the baton of conformity to the timid generations he/she rose to fit the bills of fashion houses, to buy the things he doesn’t need, to sacrifice his present and future, all to serve the system

And like a true hero, he is still discredited and told, “since you are not responsible to be free, thus your time is a slave to our democracies, organisations, corporates and systems”. He meekly agrees and carries on with his heroic daily deeds. But never questions the restrictions which were put on him to sabotage the growth of his potential to be a leader. Somewhere he is himself guilty and somewhere he is not. Being a leader is not important to him than ensuring the continuity of his/her legacy, which exists in the name of civilisations only.

The common man survives every catastrophe while leaders come and goes. This writing “Why common man cannot become a LEADER“, is my humble tribute to every common man on the planet doing the uncommon job of feeding the industries, the movie stars, democracies, world wars and many such enterprises and ensuring survivability of all.

RAJAT JHINGAN

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