JACK'S BLOG
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2/20/2012 3 Comments CharismaOpinionCHARISMA IS A CONCEPT that has long perplexed me. I just don't get it. I watch others enamored of politicians and celebrities and wondered at their reaction. I just don't get it. Is it a failing in me or a weakness in others? Or, is it something else entirely? As I wrote Rebels on the Mountain, I decided that I could not avoid the issue any longer. I had to come to grips with the seemingly magical thrall that people like Fidel Castro and Che Guevara cast over others. Some people use the terms caudillo and charisma interchangeably. However, a person may be a caudillo and have charisma. Fidel Castro must certainly fit that bill. The caudillo is a military dictator. The term came into use in the 18th century when the Spanish began losing control of their American colonies and strong men replaced colonial governments. Fidel Castro is a modern example of a military dictator; a reluctant dictator he would have us believe, using military force to rule his people at their behest. Those who disagreed invaded Miami to escape his execution squads. They should have invaded Havana instead and deposed him saving us all a lot of trouble. Deciding whether a person has charisma is far more difficult. People may reasonably disagree that one has it if they are not affected by it. Honestly, I have rarely followed anyone blindly. As is evident in other postings in this blog, I have an inherent distrust of all authority figures regardless of how that authority is derived. Indeed, I can remember just one person in my 68 years who has had a charismatic effect on me. Our company commander in Basic Combat Training at Fort Gordon, Georgia, was an Airborne Ranger, Green Beret (Special Forces) officer, Captain John Sevcik. (I am not certain of the spelling but will never forget the man.) He must have deserved a rest to be given command of a BCT company at the height of the Vietnam buildup. I am not quite certain how he accomplished it, but we all stretched ourselves well beyond our limits to please him. Was that charisma? One incident in particular serves to illustrate what the source of my quandry. Every soldier who completes 20 years or more active duty is rewarded with a retirement parade. An officer reads a summary of the honorees service record. A commanding officer salutes him. A massed battalion passes in review while a band plays a stirring martial accompaniment. Canons may be fired, the number determined by the retiree's rank. On this occasion, our BCT company was chosen to form the battalion together with a WAC company (women were not yet integrated with the men), and an airborne company waiting deployment. Our three units stood side-by-side at parade rest while the ceremony played out on the reviewing stand, and it began to rain. Our ponchos were neatly rolled and strapped to our web utility belts and left untouched. Drops falling from our helmets grazed the tips of our noses and most of us tilted our heads this way and that trying to avoid them. There was general unrest in the ranks except for one man. Captain John Sevcik stood at the head of our company without moving. He didn't look back; he didn't have to. Somehow, we became aware of him. Every man, including the ones farthest back in our ranks responded to his example. We wanted him to be proud of us, and soon we too stood at parade rest without the least movement, while the other two companies squirmed on either side of us. When the order came to pass in review, we came to attention with alacrity and marched in perfect unison as we never marched before. I know this because a letter came from the post commanding general complimenting us on our achievement. I believe I would have followed that man to the gates of hell. Now, when people speak of charisma, I am never in agreement. When Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama are held out as exemplars of charisma, I disagree, not for political reasons, but for the simple fact that I would not follow them anywhere. Indeed, no president other than, perhaps, Lincoln or Washington, could have led me as well as Captain John Sevcik. Not surprisingly, charisma is highly prized. People try to sell it. Google charisma and you will be treated to books, seminars, and training academies that promise to infuse you with a natural charm and authority that will make you irresistible to the opposite sex and a natural leader among all. I would ask for a money-back guarantee if you chose to avail yourself of their services. As I researched Fidel Castro for my novel, Rebels on the Mountain, I struggled with his charisma. Obviously, he had some quality that caused a large segment of Cuba's population to follow him – and to continue following him through years of travails. I have yet to discover it. Castro was no great military leader. His abortive attack on the Cuban army barracks at Moncada near Santiago de Cuba clearly demonstrates that he had no instinct for war. His plan of attack was ill-conceived and foundered even before the first shots were fired. He was easily captured, tried, and convicted. During his exile in Mexico where he assembled his core revolutionary army, he was rarely free to train with them. I believe that an honest evaluation of the conduct of the insurrection that caused the dictator, Fulgencio Batista, to flee the island, clearly shows that Fidel contributed little to the tactical and strategic successes. Anyone who reads my novel will find that I ascribe most of these to his men whose will and determination was superior to Batista's demoralized troops. Batista, like most dictators, discouraged competence and initiative among his military leaders for fear that they might mount a coup d'etat if they became too strong and independent. What then was the source of Castro's charisma? Most of his loyalest followers then and now are among the mulatos, the poor and illiterate, many descended of Indian and slaves. He was a Galatian with no black or Indian forebearers. He was well educated, an attorney, his father a wealthy landowner. There is no apparent cultural or ethnic connection. The only factor I can find that seemed to mesmerize his people is his voice; not his words, just his voice. It is as though he became the voice of his people, giving vent to their discontent and frustrations. Since his vocabulary exceeded theirs, it must have been something else. I remember listening to his rants on television when he first came to power. I was studying Spanish at the time and tried to listen past the translators to catch the fire in his speech. A Spaniard listening to him would have had as much trouble as someone from Boston listening to a speaker from Appalachia. I had even more difficulty. As I researched Fidel Castro for my novel, Rebels on the Mountain, I struggled with his charisma. Obviously, he had some quality that caused a large segment of Cuba's population to follow him – and to continue following him through years of travails. I have yet to discover it. Castro was no great military leader. His abortive attack on the Cuban army barracks at Moncada near Santiago de Cuba clearly demonstrates that he had no instinct for war. His plan of attack was ill-conceived and foundered even before the first shots were fired. He was easily captured, tried, and convicted. During his exile in Mexico where he assembled his core revolutionary army, he was rarely free to train with them. I believe that an honest evaluation of the conduct of the insurrection that caused the dictator, Fulgencio Batista, to flee the island, clearly shows that Fidel contributed little to the tactical and strategic successes. Anyone who reads my novel will find that I ascribe most of these to his men whose will and determination was superior to Batista's demoralized troops. Batista, like most dictators, discouraged competence and initiative among his military leaders for fear that they might mount a coup d'etat if they became too strong and independent. What then was the source of Castro's charisma? Most of his loyalest followers then and now are among the mulatos, the poor and illiterate, many descended of Indian and slaves. He was a Galatian with no black or Indian forebearers. He was well educated, an attorney, his father a wealthy landowner. There is no apparent cultural or ethnic connection. The only factor I can find that seemed to mesmerize his people is his voice; not his words, just his voice. It is as though he became the voice of his people, giving vent to their discontent and frustrations. Since his vocabulary exceeded theirs, it must have been something else. I remember listening to his rants on television when he first came to power. I was studying Spanish at the time and tried to listen past the translators to catch the fire in his speech. A Spaniard listening to him would have had as much trouble as someone from Boston listening to a speaker from Appalachia. I had even more difficulty. In my novel, I speculate that there was a more visceral connection between Fidel and his people. I speculate that the tone and pacing of his speech may have connected to their innermost hopes, fears, and expectations. I have sensed something of the kind in the great orators who I listened to as I was growing up. Those who simply read teleprompters today cannot hold a candle to speakers such as Martin Luther King, Everett Dirksen, Winston Churchill, and John Kennedy. I remember listening to George Wallace when he ran for President. He was speaking to an audience in Maryland. Despite the fact that his positions, especially as regards segregation, were extremely polarizing, he mesmerized them all, even the blacks. There was some quality of intonation and pacing that resonated with everyone. Sitting at the back of the auditorium, I could see the audience moving in unison with him. He could draw them towards him by leaning towards them. He could make them sway from side to side by swaying at the dias. It was like watching a dance. He could elicit emotions of all kinds, even from hecklers. I have never seen another performance like it except Fidel Castro. The only difference was that Castro spoke longer, much longer.
Castro regularly spoke for hours on end without losing his audience. What American could equal that performance. Would any American tolerate it? In the final analysis, I would have to say that both Fidel Castro and George Wallace had charisma, although neither had any affect on me. Likewise, I will have to concede that Bill Clinton and Barack Obama have charisma, but, again, neither move me. I cannot help but note that no Republican President in my lifetime had charisma; they had to lead using other qualities. Charisma seems to be a Democratic quality in this country as it is a necessary quality of leadership in most other countries of the world. It seems to me to be a poor substitute for competence.
3 Comments
2/19/2012 10:44:54 pm
I don't believe charisma can be defined because it is defined by each person who experiences it.
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2/20/2012 07:00:56 pm
If you've got it, you've got it. If you don't, you don't. And you can't explain it. But one thing is for certain, your writing, my friend, does indeed have charisma.
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2/20/2012 07:19:04 pm
The first head teacher that I worked for used to refer to veryone's 'box of charisma' and suggested that it was possible to fill your box with facets of behaviour that would enhance your charisma! As a teacher I can recall many colleagues who had charisma in spades but I think it is something that occurs in levels. Some people are charismatic in set scenarios, in front of a class or an audience, others are charismatic when speaking or writing about a skill or artistic trait they may have. For me it is that magnetism that people have that draws others to them when the circumstances are right.
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