The Monarchist 1.0
Defending the British Crown Commonwealth and the English-Speaking Peoples
[+] HONOURING OUR PATRON, SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL, VICTOR OF THE ENGLISH-SPEAKING PEOPLES
[+] HONOURING OUR QUEEN, ELIZABETH THE SECOND, ON THE 80TH YEAR OF HER BIRTH (1926 - 2006)
[+] HONOURING OUR KING, SAINT EDWARD THE CONFESSOR, ON THE 1000TH YEAR OF HIS BIRTH (1005 - 2005)
[+] HONOURING OUR HERO, LORD NELSON, ON THE BICENTENNIAL OF THE BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR (1805 - 2005)
[+] HONOURING OUR SONS, THE QUEEN'S COMMONWEALTH SOLDIERS KILLED IN THE 'WAR ON TERROR'
Chief Warrant Officer Robert Girouard, 46, Royal Canadian Regiment, Nov 27, 2006 (Afstan)
Staff Sergeant Sharron Elliott, 34, Intelligence Corps, Nov 12, 2006 (Iraq)
Private Jacob B. Kovco, 25, Royal Australian Regiment, April 21, 2006
[+] HONOURING OUR VETS ON THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE VICTORIA CROSS (1856 - 2006)
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Harper's Leadership
It became joyfully apparent to me this past week that for the first time in my almost four decades of life, I finally have a prime minister who I can be unambivalently proud of. I really mean that. I really mean it when I say it is a rare thing in this country to have a prime minister who exhibits the qualities of real leadership, who unreservedly comes to the fore during a moment of trial on an issue of crucial importance to the nation, and to the long-term security interests of the West. Not so rare in the proud parliamentary tradition of Great Britain, or in the broadly held geopolitical interests and responsibilities of the United States - but in this country, a country that over time had increasingly come to believe it could cede the heavy-lifting to others knowing (now falsely given the nature of this war) that it would always be shielded and protected; such leadership has been a rare thing indeed.
So what are those qualities of leadership that we speak of and have been so starved? As Walsingham wrote in a long ago previous post, "those qualities include: an understanding of history and its great lessons; an ability to distinguish friend from foe; the possession of a rational and manly loyalty to the one, and an equally rational and manly willingness and determination to fight the other; the intelligence to realize that a necessary war against a serious, determined, intelligent and ruthless enemy cannot be waged without loss, sacrifice and mess; the courage to lead and be unpopular where that is required; and the ability to think and speak clearly."
It is a testament to Harper's leadership that these qualities immediately surfaced when they needed to: following a high number of military casualties in Afghanistan, the subsequent calls by members of parliament to debate and vote on the issue, the confused fallout among the Canadian populace about why we were even there, and the consequent effect this had on the morale of our troops on the ground. To this Harper not only went to Afghanistan and provided clarity about our mission and our leadership in that mission; not only did he boost troop morale, instill the confidence of our allies and shore up support at home; not only did he argue persuasively about our own security interests - he inspired us and challenged us. He appealed to our moral purpose and historic duty. He reminded us who we are and what we should never become. That's leadership. It's been a long time coming.
THREE EXCELLENT RECOMMENDATIONS:
Andrew Coyne - Harper's Mission Statement; David Warren - Afghan Wilds and Hail the Chief.
ONE TOTALLY UNDIGNIFIED WINDBAG: Antonia Zerbisias - A White House visit by way of Kandahar
POSTED BY: The Monarchist AT 12:58 a.m. | LINKS |
It became joyfully apparent to me this past week that for the first time in my almost four decades of life, I finally have a prime minister who I can be unambivalently proud of. I really mean that. I really mean it when I say it is a rare thing in this country to have a prime minister who exhibits the qualities of real leadership, who unreservedly comes to the fore during a moment of trial on an issue of crucial importance to the nation, and to the long-term security interests of the West. Not so rare in the proud parliamentary tradition of Great Britain, or in the broadly held geopolitical interests and responsibilities of the United States - but in this country, a country that over time had increasingly come to believe it could cede the heavy-lifting to others knowing (now falsely given the nature of this war) that it would always be shielded and protected; such leadership has been a rare thing indeed.So what are those qualities of leadership that we speak of and have been so starved? As Walsingham wrote in a long ago previous post, "those qualities include: an understanding of history and its great lessons; an ability to distinguish friend from foe; the possession of a rational and manly loyalty to the one, and an equally rational and manly willingness and determination to fight the other; the intelligence to realize that a necessary war against a serious, determined, intelligent and ruthless enemy cannot be waged without loss, sacrifice and mess; the courage to lead and be unpopular where that is required; and the ability to think and speak clearly."
It is a testament to Harper's leadership that these qualities immediately surfaced when they needed to: following a high number of military casualties in Afghanistan, the subsequent calls by members of parliament to debate and vote on the issue, the confused fallout among the Canadian populace about why we were even there, and the consequent effect this had on the morale of our troops on the ground. To this Harper not only went to Afghanistan and provided clarity about our mission and our leadership in that mission; not only did he boost troop morale, instill the confidence of our allies and shore up support at home; not only did he argue persuasively about our own security interests - he inspired us and challenged us. He appealed to our moral purpose and historic duty. He reminded us who we are and what we should never become. That's leadership. It's been a long time coming.
THREE EXCELLENT RECOMMENDATIONS:
Andrew Coyne - Harper's Mission Statement; David Warren - Afghan Wilds and Hail the Chief.
ONE TOTALLY UNDIGNIFIED WINDBAG: Antonia Zerbisias - A White House visit by way of Kandahar
POSTED BY: The Monarchist AT 12:58 a.m. | LINKS |
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