Coot Lesson 10 – Lead or at least Don’t Follow

All through life, people have been wanting us to follow. It makes thing easy when 95 percent of the population stands around placidly waiting for direction. Starting in kindergarten, we are encouraged, bribed and sometimes even forced into mindless imitation of leaders. With all this pressure, it is no wonder that that we grow up with an aversion to rocking the boat or looking out of place. We don’t want to stand out or make waves. Well, coots are here to tell you that there is one other result of being a follower – you don’t matter.  And that is the last thing a Coot wants.

One of the tricks to being a good follower is that you stop thinking. You don’t question what the leader knows that you don’t. You don’t question what he wants to accomplish and whether it helps you at all. After a time you don’t even think about you at all. You become an insignificant speck in the universe of humanity. You are predictable and therefore of no consequence. You will follow and therefore will never cause a problem. You are a nebbish, a blank.

Here at Coots, we believe that no one should ever be able to predict your actions or not have to worry about what you might do. We believe that loose cannons rule. Nobody ignores a loose canon because it is impossible to predict what direction it will go and when and where it might fire. If you want to be significant, noticed and respected then become a loose canon – never follow anyone.

One of the lessons that gets pounded into our heads is that leaders (e.g the people we are following) know something. That is why we are so willing to follow them. They have a connection to some wisdom or truth which just naturally makes life wonderful when we follow them. If we weren’t so brainwashed, we might notice that usually they lead us into some swamp and that if it is good for anybody it will be the leader and not the follower. The truth is that the people we accept as leaders almost never know anything useful. The only good that comes from following is the peaceful feeling of not being responsible. Followers are seldom better off for following but the people we are following are.

At Coots, we say don’t follow. There is no need to get hung up about being a leader or knowing anything. You may have a vision as you march forward to the beat of your own drummer. But if you don’t , don’t let it bother you. Be a loose canon. You will be respected and nobody will ever take you for granted.  And if anybody wants to follow you, that is their problem.

Ralph

Ralph is the inspiration for Cantankerous Old Coots and is our Grand Duke of Cantankerousness

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