Who Is In Charge?
“In the times of greatest darkness, the light always shines through because there are people who stand up to do brave, decent things. What I am trying to say, Yona, is that in moments like this, it doesn’t matter what you were born to be. It matters what you choose to become.” ― Kristin Harmel, The Forest of Vanishing Stars
Who is in charge?
This question has been asked many times by individuals unhappy about something and who want the person responsible for everyone else to resolve their issue. With all of the nonsense going on these days with government both local and national, many of us are asking the same question, Who is in charge?
Lately we have seen many college campuses taken over by protestors, unhappy about the Palestinian / Israel conflict. They are not only protesting and demonstrating, but also defacing property, putting up encampments on college grounds, leaving filth for others to clean up and taking control of various college buildings. We look to see who will put a stop to this and control the situation and ask, Who is in charge?
Right now it seems to be the protestors and not the college administration and / or their boards of trustees. That didn’t happen in my days in school. Protests were allowed, but we knew who was in charge and there was a price to be paid for crossing the protest line. Not now. There appears to be no line that cannot be crossed, but instead ignored and erased.
The same is true with our government. People are illegally crossing our borders. Not only are they not stopped, but in many cases welcomed and given things such as food, clothing, housing and in some cases the right to vote. We have laws in place that define who and how you can enter this country. They are ignored.
In the past, entry into this country was strictly enforced. If a person did not adhere to our laws they were sent back to where they came from. Our leaders made sure that the laws were enforced. Not today. And again we ask, Who is in charge?
“And our father always says if you have to remind your team of that . . .”
As a child growing up, there were a number of people in my life who were in charge.
My parents were in charge of our family and household. They taught my sister and I right from wrong and enforced the family rules and regulations. When either of us stepped out of line (Me more so than my sister) we were corrected and brought back in the straight and sometimes narrow.
While our parents loved and nurtured us, they also supported the other authority figures and made sure we heeded what they said. If not, there was hell to pay and we made sure to listen and obey.
In school our teachers and the administration were in charge. We were there to learn and if we did anything that got in the way of us or others learning, that was not tolerated. We could voice our displeasure with something, but there were no formal protests, demonstrations or sit-ins. Try that and suspension or expulsion were the next step. Not that way right now.
In adult life, our places of business had a hierarch that we followed. We knew who was in charge and what we were to do to make the organization stronger with the expectation that one day we too would be in charge.
And in our everyday life, we supported and elected people to represent us and to provide and uphold the laws and order to our everyday lives. We didn’t however cede total authority to them. Rather they represented our interests and made sure that our wants were met.
Today, that has all seemed to have changed.
Our leadership at many levels is either failing or non-existent. The people in charge talk a lot, but are not strong. They give in to the smallest contention of their authority.
It is not that we aren’t allowed to express our opinions and displeasure at things. But when our actions become violent and we show no respect to any authority, it is time for true leaders to step in and do something about it. That just isn’t happening, at least not much these days.
So, that brings us to the question, “Who is in charge”?
Where are those who have the strength and wisdom to lead? And when will they look out for our best interests, not their own?
People are slowly getting the message. And they are taking action. It will take a lot of effort to undo what has taken place over the past few years. But we see it happening in other parts of the world, not just here. You can push people so much until they say, “Enough is enough”. Our time is coming as well.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Peter H. Christian was a founding partner and president of espi, a business consulting firm in Northeastern PA. Previously he was an Executive at Crayola Corporation. He has worked with 300+ clients in business development, profit improvement, operations, IS selection and implementation, and Project Management. He has 40+ years of experience in strategic and facility planning, CI, lean, and supply chain. He has helped companies to realize millions of dollars in cost reductions and profit improvements adding and retaining thousands of jobs. He has authored the Amazon bestselling business books, “What About the Vermin Problem?” and “Influences and Influencers” (4 out of 4 star review on Online Bookclub) and is published in a variety of professional magazines. He is most appreciative of Dr. Rodney Ridley and Donald Schalk of the O’Pake Institute, Alvernia University for their support in allowing him to teach this important course
