Imagine a herd of sheep with no shepherd, a band of rats with no piper, or a hive with no queen bee. In all of the scenarios, there is unmitigated chaos and uncontrollable disorder due to the lack of a unifying purpose. A world filled with followers would be similar, with everyone ready to conform but with no path to follow, and would lead to an unproductive and aimless society. On the other hand, imagine a pack of only alpha wolves or a pride consisting solely of dominant lions. Such a society also fails to function, in this case, because all the competing interests clamor only to be heard but never executed, as there is a lack of solidarity in achieving a purpose. In both the wild and human society, there is a great need for a balance between
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clearly display that adjusting one’s personas of a leader or follower to suit the situation allows for effective completion of the common goal. Bayard Rustin, a leading civil rights activist during the 1960s, observed that there was no initiative in his community to combat the rampant segregation that was encroaching on many people’s civil rights at the time. Therefore, he began organizing protests and marches to bring awareness to the cause, and he succeeded in influencing leaders such as Martin Luther King Junior (Haskins 77). Rustin, while a less well-known figure compared to King, was the one who advised King about using nonviolence and influenced King’s actions regarding the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (Haskins 100). King, inspired by the marches in Rustin’s community as well as his ideology, asked Rustin to lead the organization of the March on Washington, where King delivered his famed “I Have a Dream” speech. Rustin made an important decision as a fully realized human being to shift from being a leader to a follower at this point, because he realized that his skill set was more focused on organizing the event, rather than public speaking, a skill which King excelled at. At the same time, King was able to learn from Rustin’s ideologies and initiative, and then use them as the foundation for his fight for equality, also displaying the importance of interchanging between the roles of a follower and leader. Both Rustin and King clearly show that in order to be a fully realized human being, one must realize the need to alternate between the roles of a follower and leader as suited to the situation to achieve a successful
clearly display that adjusting one’s personas of a leader or follower to suit the situation allows for effective completion of the common goal. Bayard Rustin, a leading civil rights activist during the 1960s, observed that there was no initiative in his community to combat the rampant segregation that was encroaching on many people’s civil rights at the time. Therefore, he began organizing protests and marches to bring awareness to the cause, and he succeeded in influencing leaders such as Martin Luther King Junior (Haskins 77). Rustin, while a less well-known figure compared to King, was the one who advised King about using nonviolence and influenced King’s actions regarding the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (Haskins 100). King, inspired by the marches in Rustin’s community as well as his ideology, asked Rustin to lead the organization of the March on Washington, where King delivered his famed “I Have a Dream” speech. Rustin made an important decision as a fully realized human being to shift from being a leader to a follower at this point, because he realized that his skill set was more focused on organizing the event, rather than public speaking, a skill which King excelled at. At the same time, King was able to learn from Rustin’s ideologies and initiative, and then use them as the foundation for his fight for equality, also displaying the importance of interchanging between the roles of a follower and leader. Both Rustin and King clearly show that in order to be a fully realized human being, one must realize the need to alternate between the roles of a follower and leader as suited to the situation to achieve a successful