Presidential Arrogance

The decision that President Obama announced last night regarding the schedule for troop withdrawals smacks of the arrogance of "I will just because I can." What I have gathered from listening and reading is that the President announced his preferred withdrawal schedule and scope in spite of different recommendations from his military advisers--professional soldiers who have devoted their lives and careers to military service. Maybe he will be right. But maybe the President's advisers have learned some things over the course of their military careers that should have had a greater influence on his decision.

Granted, the President is the Commander-in-Chief. He gets to make decisions such as the one he announced last night. But (no offense intended), what does this President know about waging war? He has never served and there is nothing from his known background that would lead me to think that he is in a position to make better decisions than his professional military advisers. Of course, as the President has said before, elections have consequences, and this is one of those.

Mr. Obama is not alone. The arrogance of "I will just because I can" is disgusting from the playground to the boardroom. Regulators, prosecutors, and the markets may have curbed some of the boardroom arrogance. Accountability is resurgent. But in far too many families, schools, churches, businesses, and neighborhoods, arrogance reigns.

Arrogance is ultimately debilitating because it serves to cut off the arrogant from others who may have wisdom to offer. We absolutely need strong leaders in all parts of life. But the strongest leaders recognize that there is wisdom in many counselors. And not just to have them around, but to take their advice to heart. When a leader embraces wisdom from his advisers, it means acknowledging that the leader needs wise advisers. Such self-awareness may actually be the beginning of wisdom. And wisdom defeats arrogance, in the long run, every time.