Sunday, May 07, 2006
Support For Experience
The Advertiser Saturday 6/5/06 editorial is just plain wrong. The idea being that we should not support a second coming, such as Jeff Kennett, a person who was capable of making the hard decisions that resurrected Victoria's failed economy. The inability to acknowledge the benefit of experience consigns us to repeat the same mistakes that lead to failed economies.
A no second coming logic, at its core it extols the virtue of electing people who appear to have a fresh approach – inherent in that sentiment is the idea we should only elect those who have never made mistakes, who have no experience, who never make a significant decision.
Those who never make a decision can rightfully claim they have made no mistakes, after all that is the mediocrity we have settled for with Mike Rann. Sir Winston Churchill and John Howard are good examples of leaders capable of accepting their mistakes, learning from them and reinventing themselves, as can any good performer who outlasts fads. The key test is do they actually stand for something? Ideals never grow old, although methods to attain those ideals may change.
A no second coming logic, at its core it extols the virtue of electing people who appear to have a fresh approach – inherent in that sentiment is the idea we should only elect those who have never made mistakes, who have no experience, who never make a significant decision.
Those who never make a decision can rightfully claim they have made no mistakes, after all that is the mediocrity we have settled for with Mike Rann. Sir Winston Churchill and John Howard are good examples of leaders capable of accepting their mistakes, learning from them and reinventing themselves, as can any good performer who outlasts fads. The key test is do they actually stand for something? Ideals never grow old, although methods to attain those ideals may change.
