American Governance and the Savior Complex
From Trump to Biden: an overinflated idea of importance
In an attempt to allay fears over his age and ability to govern for four more years, President Biden held an interview yesterday with George Stephanopoulos where he repeatedly touted his accomplishments as an argument for why he deserves voters’ continued support. Indeed, I believe the Biden administration has had some considerable successes, such as the American Rescue Plan Act (which helped me keep my home), treatment for veterans who became sick from toxic burn pits, increased domestic manufacturing of semiconductors, and the most significant infrastructure investment in decades. But when further pressed, Biden gave Stephanopoulos which exasperated me. “Who’s going to be able to hold NATO together like me?” he said. “Who’s going to be able to be in a position where I’m able to keep the Pacific Basin in a position where, at least we’re checkmating China now? Who’s going to do that? Who has that reach?”
Biden’s appeal echoes Trump’s claim to voters, as he declared about the problems the country faced, “I alone can fix it.” The comments of both men are indicative of the problem at the heart of why elder executives, lawmakers, and judges seem unwilling to hand over the metaphorical keys to the car: they suffer from a savior complex. They believe that because they’ve been around longer than anyone, they’re the only ones with enough perspicacity to see us through hard times. But they’re wrong. I believe our elders have great importance in our society. There is much wisdom we can glean from them. But there comes a point where they lack the agility and stamina to lead and would be better suitable as advisers to younger leaders. In addition, as people age, they often get stuck in their ways and fail to think of and accept new ways of doing things because ‘we’ve always done it this way.’
The Value of Fresh Perspectives
Let’s contrast the American gerontocracy with some governments run by young leaders. Sanna Marin became Prime Minister of Finland in 2019 at the age of 34, the youngest person to hold the office. She has navigated Finland through the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing war in Ukraine, demonstrating strong leadership and a commitment to diplomacy and collaboration. Similarly, there is Jacinda Ardern, who became Prime Minister of New Zealand in 2017 at the young age of 37. She has been lauded for her empathetic and compassionate leadership, particularly in the wake of the Christchurch mosque shootings and the White Island volcanic eruption. She has championed issues like child poverty reduction and mental health awareness. Ardern is so much younger than President Biden that she wasn’t even alive when he began his first Senate term. Yet, she had the wisdom to resign as Prime Minister of New Zealand rather than to seek a third term. At the time, she stated, "I know what this job takes and I know that I no longer have enough in the tank to do it justice. It is that simple. We need a fresh set of shoulders for that challenge." If the leader of a country with a population comparable to that of the state of Louisiana can admit that she no longer has the energy to lead at 42, why can’t the US President (and his opponent) at 81 and 78 respectively?
More importantly, to think that in a country of over 300 million people, no one else is capable of effective governance, is beyond pretentious. The narcissism of our older leaders has hurt the nation greatly over the past several years. Neither Ruth Bader Ginsburg nor Diane Feinstein knew how to leave gracefully, choosing rather to die in their offices with the former’s death giving way to a rogue far-right Supreme Court and the end of women’s bodily autonomy among other things. Even more alarming, Former President Trump assembled a cult based on racist and xenophobic scapegoating and the lie that he alone could fix America’s problems. And now President Biden likewise implores us to believe that he is the only person who can lead the country for the next four years.
The truth is that when it comes to governance, no one is irreplaceable. A nation as vast and dynamic as the United States requires leadership built on humility, not self-importance. New leaders emerge as they are needed, and the country continues on. Joe Biden is not our only hope, and Donald Trump surely is not our only hope. We can and should demand those with a savior complex to step aside. Anyone who thinks they are America’s only hope is likely not the right person for the job.