Hello, and thanks for stopping by. This is the next installment of what has now become a multi-part series of articles about rhythm and rhyme between history and the present day, partially out of personal interest, but more so in the hopes of being able to digest this general era of bad feelings a little more palatably. Since I've exhausted everyone's favourite conversation topic, the Covid-19 pandemic & its similarities to the 1918-20 Spanish flu, I've chosen to move on to the second most agreeable and uncontroversial subject; politics and national leaders. Given that 2020 and the short time following it has been rife with accusations of tyranny, incompetence and radicalism, I'll be examining some cases from history that highlight several truly notorious world leaders, as well as the tactics and decisions that earned them their well-deserved reputations. If you wish to, you can skip my thoughtful and clearly biased prologue, shown in italics. However, it is an advisory for a reason, I will not be held responsible for pain caused by irritated cognitive dissonance.
One of the most fascinating things about history is the way it ebbs and flows with time. New ideas challenge the old way of things, ideologies struggle against one another, and the constantly evolving and interconnected plot line of people and places. Some of the most memorable figures in history are the leaders; The ingenious generals, the influential religious figureheads, kings, queens, emperors, and sultans that not only catch our attention but deeply affect the piece of the world over which they reign. We recognize and revere their accomplishments and legacies; immortalized in literature, theatre, film and video game. Even to those who hold little interest in the subject, many of us will recognize names of notable figures due to their influence on the world. Much more interesting to us are the bad leaders: scandalous stories of the corrupt, the incompetent, the deceitful, the malevolent, or the generally infamous. Such are the leaders who earn an everlasting reputation as national embarrassments that seem out of the storyline of a comic book or B-list movie rather than real life, who often inspire fictional villains in some of our more well known pieces of historical fiction.
What are we to do though, when we feel as though our own leaders are unworthy of their position at the helm of our country? Making an accurate assessment is difficult enough with the tsunami of infotainment, misinformation and inherent bias when it comes to politics. Many modern news sources now include a handy feature where they do most of the critical thinking for you. Alternatively, history can provide some foresight and perspective not only as to whether your country is badly run, but what truly constitutes bad.
What are we to do though, when we feel as though our own leaders are unworthy of their position at the helm of our country? Making an accurate assessment is difficult enough with the tsunami of infotainment, misinformation and inherent bias when it comes to politics. Many modern news sources now include a handy feature where they do most of the critical thinking for you. Alternatively, history can provide some foresight and perspective not only as to whether your country is badly run, but what truly constitutes bad.
Time is said to be the toughest judge, the fairest teacher, and a great number of other vague and forgettable things, but it certainly gives enough time to relax, collect our thoughts, listen closely and understand something that in the moment felt like a hurricane of hot bullsh*t. So what really makes a truly terrible leader? We know that bad behaviour comes in many forms. Whether it be speeding through a school zone, lying on your taxes, or selling government secrets to the Soviet Union for cash, regular folks like you or I may find ourselves facing a day in court when caught on the wrong side of the law.
For those who write the law however, things are a little more complicated. Anywhere that leadership is needed, there exist positions of authority that are enshrined with power and responsibilities needed get the job done: Whether it be to write parking tickets to the owner of large Buick blocking a fire hydrant, to enacting new laws that govern a nation. As we know from experience, responsibilities can be thrown to the wind and power used instead for biased, enriching, or tyrannical ends. Just as a teacher's authority should be used for education and positive reinforcement, they could hypothetically choose to use their position for self-interested ends: neglect the curriculum and later 'cook' the mark books, embezzle field trip money for their liquor store fund, or use personal sick days to travel to a Caribbean destination and teach online from an all-inclusive resort.
Note: These actions are neither ones I perform nor endorse. All creative rights are credited to the teachers whose behaviours occupy the final pages of the OCT magazine.
Similarly, those in power can abuse their office for dishonest or fraudulent purposes. We broadly define it as corruption, but this isn't necessarily helpful. Would I be corrupt by taking the last package of cheese & crackers from the class's nutrition bin at day's end? Would lying to my dentist about my supremely poor flossing habits merit the term fraudulent? Would immoral actions committed within the bounds of the law be rinsed of any criminal association? To help identify the grey areas within the spectrum of corruption, here are some specific definitions and notable examples for each type of unscrupulous action:
- Graft: Improper use of authority, usually for personal gain (single)
- Former Vice President Spiro Agnew, VP to Richard Nixon. Agnew had shown favouritism to engineering firms for the construction and maintenance of the state's road projects in exchange for regular "campaign donations" which continued into his tenure as VP. With the White House already embroiled in the developing Watergate Investigation and growing talks of impeachment proceedings, Agnew resigned from office in October 1973 and pleaded "no contest" to the charges, paying $10,000 in fines and receiving three years of unsupervised probation.
- Influence Peddling: Trading one's influence, usually to seek personal gain (systematic)
- Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was convicted of corruption after investigations revealed numerous "pay to play" schemes conducted as governor, seeking money or other payments in exchange for legislative authorizations, vetoes, and gubernatorial appointments, most notably being the state's recently vacated Senate seat. Initially sentenced to 14 years imprisonment, Blagojevich served 8 years in custody until his sentence was commuted by President Trump in 2020.
- Embezzlement: The withholding of entrusted assets to be converted or used for inappropriate purposes
- Former Alberta Premier Alison Redford, who billed the province numerous unrelated expenses during her time in office, including a multi-nation "trade mission" with family members, personal assistants and a nanny, generous salaries and severance packages for staff and friends, and a multi-million dollar apartment suite humbly nicknamed "Skypalace". Redford resigned from the premiership and was conspicuously absent from the Alberta legislature, presumably to take time to reflect on her less-than-impeccable judgement. No charges were filed.
- Bribery: Giving, offering or receiving payments to influence the actions of an official of duty.
- Former South Korean president Lee Myung-Bak was found guilty of bribery and other crimes from accepting bribes from a variety of sources and channeling assets into an illegal slush fund. Notably, he was convicted of accepting nearly $6 million bribes from the Samsung corporation in exchange for a presidential pardon for company chairman Lee Kun-hee. Lee was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment in October 2018.
- Cronyism, Nepotism: Awarding jobs or advantages to friends/family/allies
- Numerous stories of the Princelings, a term coined in the early 20th century to describe the kin of prominent Chinese officials that utilize their parent's privilege to obtain influential positions for themselves.
Other criminal acts can also be considered corrupt if committed through the use of official authority or political influence; such as perjury, obstruction of justice, or suppression of dissent.
While this was initially going to be a widely-scoped piece touching on each subject, two problems soon presented themselves. First was the fact that not all infamous leaders "broke the law", many committed their acts using the law or federal prerogative to legitimize them and as such, while certainly having negative outcomes, were not technically illegal. The other obstacle was a surplus of choice, with a plethora of examples to choose from. Ultimately, the aim of this article (and the others to come) is to explore a single individual who best embodies one of the aforementioned crimes and summarize their tenure; questionable qualities, dubious decisions, their fall from grace, and examine the clear and measurable damage they did to their country in the process.
