Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Leadership is a function of principle, character, law, and the ethics of an individual. A leader is judged by how well they balance their will to rule and the betterment of the society through their decisions from the position of power. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was a unique leader and a great thinker who utilized many crucial things at his disposal to the best of his ability. Delano served as the 32nd president of the United States and is credited with guiding light and shining glimmer of
hope to Americans in one of their darkest periods in time: the post great depression. Aristotle was another great leader who was a student of Plato and benefitted greatly from being an avid listener. Aristotle supported the craft of leading through serving and listening: something that Delano was quite adept and proficient in. Delano was a persuasive leader who benefitted greatly from his charm and convinced both his allies and enemies to work together for the greater good of the people. This paper focuses on the qualities of leadership derived from Franklin Delano Roosevelt regarding Aristotle and his lasting influences on modern-day ethics.
Background
Franklin Delano lived an undemanding life during his early years and was aided by the smartness that led him to prestigious schools such as Groton and Harvard. He had a Christian background that partly helped build his morality and astute thinking mode when faced with great pressures and tough decisions during his precedency. Delano had a warm personality and a charming facade that allowed him to deflect attention from himself and also create a devoted team that was overly dedicated to working. Delano’s tenure in power, which lasted for almost for terms as president, was marred with renewed vigor and hope for the people and the nation’s progression.
Delano worked closely with other nations and was known for fixing relations between the United States and
rival countries such as Russia. War was only implemented in times of desperation and foremost as a last resort. Delano valued logic and understanding among his government and colleagues. He always stood for what he believed in and called out other nations when he deemed their uncivilized and overstepping actions. For instance, in May 1940, after the Germans invaded France and swept through their country, Delano stood up for the French by airing a broadcast chat that called for charity’s immediate actions by the Red Cross and other nations amid the suffering.
Fredrick Delano was also smart in his operations a was a man prone to listening and acting on advice from his chosen small circle of advisers. He sometimes looked at the larger picture and worked to secure the interest of the public. For instance, his actions allowed covert talks with the British government to sign military pacts, which ensured the United States supplied destroyer vessels in exchange for
longer leases in the Americas. Later persuading the British government to declare the ship as avoid to avoid public outbursts from the masses showing his tact worked. Understanding the wants of the group formed a crucial part of the leading process and direction regarding progress.
Aristotle
Aristotle was a great leader, philosopher-scientist, and thinker who had lots of knowledge in numerous fields such as ethics, politics, biology, physics, mathematics, botany, and many others. Aristotle believed that to be truly happy, one needed to be guided by a higher moral level called for good character. Aristotle’s leadership thoughts can be mirrored in the positive sense by Fredrick Delano, who is also led by listening to his advisors and acting on the common man’s needs. Aristotle supported t
he virtue of leadership through serving. Aristotle valued prudence and saw it as a major requirement in a good leader. Prudence meant that a good leader could see the bigger picture and protect the people from running into trouble by making effective decisions that avoided future inconsistencies.
Prudence goes hand in hand with logic and avoids the inclusion of wrongful and baseless thinking through inaccurate arrival at conclusions and inferences. In Aristotle’s world, a good leader should bear the qualities prudence, forecasting, and logic. In his capacity, Franklin Delano had attained some of the posit
ive qualities of a leader that Aristotle advised. Delano was the provider of hope to the American people when they required a positive thinking and oriented leader after the great depression. Many Americans lost their jobs and sunk to extremely difficult livelihoods after the collapse of the market. Through his leadership, Franklin Delano inspired people and saw to it that the economy regained its might, and people were once again able to work and progress. At the onset of the First Worl War, after German unprovoked attacked Poland, Franklin Delano aired the message of staying out of the war to remain neutral. Such actions showed deliberate thinking geared towards peace and salvaging of the nation’s resources.
Some negatives can be seen in Delano’s leadership that was not aligned with Aristotle’s leadership philosophy. For instance, there are such occasions in which Delano was seen as shifty with his decisions jumping from one to the other. Some scholars have argued that Delano did not rescue the nation from the great depression; instead, the country corrected itself due to the normal operations of the economy and its periodic changes. Delano sometimes shifted from one strategy to the
next without letting one particular tactic see out its course. Such moves are seen as those of impatience and may lack prudence in their execution. Delano’s covert involvement in the war aiding the British may have been a trigger move. There were many things at stake if the information leaked and landed on the wrong years because that would only have served to invite attacks from other nations.
Aristotle’s influences in modern-day ethics
Some crucial lessons to learn from the philosophy of Aristotle is that leadership is based on the principles of a person, and the execution of decisions is highly reliant on the personality, logic, and heart of the leader. Aristotle believed in prudence and logic in the execution of true leadership. Current leaders have adopted the notion of securing the interest of the masses rather
than self-enrichment. Aristotle believed that leaders are only temporary and that the effort left behind remains much longer than the bearer of a position of power. Avoiding friction with other parties is a crucial logic and approach that saves effort and channels resources to the right areas.
Leaders must put logic as the first step in their leading process because it will help achieve consistent progress and development among the people—avoidance of preventable wars that can be dealt with in resource-saving ways resource-consuming confrontations. Aristotle’s su
pport for leading through serving is another principle that should be incorporated. Some of Aristotle’s teachings and leadership principles have had their influences on the current government structures and output. For instance, most government structures have different levels of power and roles geared towards assisting the president, who is the leader of the nations in most countries worldwide, to make informed decisions. The Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches of the government are examples of Aristotle’s influences in contemporary times. As mentioned above, all the government branches work to serve the people by understanding their needs and helping them make relevant decisions.
Conclusion
Franklin Delano was an effective leader whose presence in the United States history books cannot be understated or downplayed. Delano helped Americans move to a better place
through his well-thought execution of ideas and clarity of the people’s important aspects. Delano’s approach to listening to advice and leading through serving aligns with Aristotle’s leadership philosophy. Aristotle advocated for prudence, logic, and leading through serving. The lessons derived from Aristotle’s thinking have applied in the modern-day ethics and leadership mechanisms. For instance, Aristotle’s ethical teachings are well engraved in the
leadership of the United States. The structure of the government is relevant to the people and works towards empowering the population by looking at the various ways to fix ongoing problems.