By Staff
Our View
What is leadership? Is this a quality that some of us are born with and others not; or is leadership something entirely different? What about leadership being taught, can this be done?
These are questions we have thought of this last week spurred by all the examples of leadership going on in our town and nation.
Two examples of leadership occurring in our town last week was when Mayor Shell led a meeting to discuss possible solutions to a problem occurring here in Atmore. Also, Jo Bonner, made a brief visit on Thursday for his town meeting, and spoke on a few topics. These two individuals were elected by the people. What made us vote for them? Some would say they have displayed leadership qualities that we admire.
If you are addicted to reality TV, you might have caught Donald Trump's "Apprentice" show last week. The show is based in New York, and pits a group of 16 people against each other for the chance to run one of Trump's companies. Thursday night two of the remaining four contestants were "fired" from the show and the remaining two became the managers over what were probably the last eight people "fired." Both of the managers, or leaders had to lead their team to victory in whatever task Trump assigned them.
On a national level, what about the President, and his commitment to the people of the United States? We have given him our trust and have put him in a position to make decisions on a daily basis that could affect millions of lives.
What do all of these leaders have in common? Some of these people speak for only a handful of people, some thousands, and some millions, but each is a leader no matter the number of followers. They each show characteristics of leadership even though they might be different. One might not handle a situation the same as another, but hopefully each of them tries to work each situation for the best possible result for everyone concerned.
How do these people get to where they are? We feel that the saying, some people are just born leaders is true, however, we also feel that leadership can be cultivated in individuals, only a seed needs to be planted.
Thursday, Editor Arthur McLean had the chance to spend the day in Montgomery with Youth Leadership Atmore, juniors from area highschools who had the opportunity to listen to some influential people in our state government. These kids have set themselves apart and have said they want to be leaders, that they have a seed. Our children will be the leaders of the future. Only our guidance and examples will be left for tomorrow's leaders once we are gone. Because of this, it is our duty as today's leaders to help water, prune, and feed that seed of desire.
Make sure to read on pages one and eight of today's newspaper a more in-depth review of the Atmore Youth Leadership and their trip to Montgomery.