"Man is the sum total of the his foibles and secrets embeded in his heart."
Man is a tragic being in nature, which is reflected in the secrets he choses to hold dearest to his heart or choses to hide and reveal. I recall a poem titled "Richard Cory" which I read in my school days mirroring the imperfect nature of mankind. Richard Cory the tragic-hero in the poem was seen to have it all in terms beauty, charisma, riches or better-still wealth but despite all the aura of success surrounding him , he was a tragic lonely figure. Richard Cory had no friends and this sorrowful state lead to his commiting suicide. Lets take a cue from from the Shakespeare legend in the character of Hamlet. Hamlet was a tragic-hero who had it all in terms of the alluring trappings of royalty but when confronted with the sorry reality of the dent pervading the throne of Denmark which he was reluctant to confront he had to take the lonely road of murderer. But when the moment of truth beckoned on him he had to jettison all the weak trappings of the Judeo-Christian ethos to correct the pervading the wrongs associated with the throne of Denmark.
But the truth be told that secrets are part and parcel of our nature and as such we cannot do without them. They define us and also ignite the inate passion embeded in us. One of the respected Philosoher of Bavarian age, Ludwig Wittenstein who bestrode the intellectual ivory tower of Cambrige University like a collosus was wispered in secret quarters to be a homosexual. The legendery boss of the American Federal Bureau of Investigation, F.B.I, John Edgar Hoover was wispered in secrets that he was a homosexual. The 11th American President , Abraham Lincoln was known to be suffering from debilating chronic severe depression but this ws kept secret from the American public, I wonder what will if this was to ocurr on our contemporary age? The point I am making is that, as humans we should not be quick to judge our fellow men when their ethical flaws standards do not conform to our moral standards.
I have it from certain historical scholars that some of the traits we unequivocally condemn to be an anathema could be an oasis of strenght to certain men. There comes a time when political leaders in taking harsh unpleasant decisions will need to confront the reality of loneliness. An illustration will suffice, Woodrow Wilson , a professor of Government at Princeton University thought he had all i.e intellectual brilliance,political exposure and the moral discipline e.t.c of what it takes to make a difference in politics but when the explosive issue of America joining the League of Nation despite his intense campaign against his doctors advice came, he received a resounding a rejection from the American populace through their congressman. Magreth Thacther, the iron lady of Britain who industrialised and changed the face of the welfare state in Britain suffered a resounding rejection at the Parliamentary elections. President Charles De Gaulle, the French statesman against the popular accepted opoinion of the time granted independence to African Francophone countries was seen in certain quarters as a pariah.
Conclusively, I will align my thoughts with one of my mentors in the person of Walter Lippman who was of the view that only those who have the guts to stay awake at the dead of the night have the psychological whererwithal to impact meaning change in their world. The far reaching decisions that cause a ripple in our society are made in silent corners of our heart. Two Generals who are deemed to be the architects of our modern democracy, thus General Montgomery and General Eisenhower had to stand alone when taking decisions that will aid the Allied Forces to conquer the Axis territory. Civilisation belongs to the brave-hearted who are more than willing to stand-up to their beliefs even in the face of unpopular opinion or views.