Behind great men

I have a theory that has been espoused by many others with some sort of twist. Men with great potential also have great frailties.

Now, I'm going to use men for the example, although many of the same discussions apply to women. But some just don't seem to. So the gender choice is on purpose.

It's kind of the yin and yang of the human composition with the positives for success needing a likely negative. Men with compassion only have it because they have passion, which leads them down paths of sexual destruction. Men with the confidence to try great things teeter on the verge of arrogance which is always guaranteed to topple. Those who amazing focus require some type of escape to keep them from madness, escapes which are often debilitating.

I think it's one of the reason we see so much mediocrity in leadership anymore. For people to qualify for our vote or agreement to leadership, we vet them to pointlessness. Do we expect to find someone with the qualities to lead who hasn't made mistakes? How can they relate to the human condition after living unlike a human? It's likely the cause of our disappointment too. Maybe the "perfect" person can attain leadership, but their humanity catches them and they disappoint our expectations by eventually giving in.

This wasn't so true in the past. If we look at Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Lincoln - politicians we forgo political parties and give respect - we see huge human frailties. Across the seas, examine Churchill. Their weaknesses didn't drive them to evil but there's no doubt they had a special appreciation for the pleasures of the flesh and their own egos. But they are peccadilloes compared to the big picture accomplishments.

I also believe there's a corollary to this hypothesis. Behind these men with weaknesses, there is quite often a "suffering" woman. I quote suffering only because those who would examine the situation would label her so. Yet she may be quite happy and tolerant of the situation. But the more important aspect is that she is there as a support that may be what keeps the weakness from overtaking the overall man.

I think these men of weakness are hard not to love. In the more general population, they are the bad boys. But where the majority of bad boys only carry the negative yang of the equation, those capable of bigger things also carry the positive yin. And their zest for life, constant interest, and altruistic face draw the hearts of many women. But those women have to be wise to understand and tolerate the combination.

They also must have a combination of traits, they are special women. Strong enough to not be run down but flexible enough to endure the dark leanings. Passionate enough to keep interest and compassionate enough to understand such immense weakness only they may view.

It is as if we've decided to take our human race into mediocrity by eating those who have such great possibility. We feel more comfortable with those more like the majority, the average instead of the exceptional. Our inability to understand and accept the humanity that is combined with striving leaves us mired. It frustrates the best of us by the refusal to understand the worst in us.

We need a renaissance of reality.