What is the Strongman Syndrome?
Strongmen have been around, and, sorry to say, have been a staple for centuries, if not millennia.
The Strongman Syndrome is part of what I would like to refer to as ‘Strongmanism.’
Who is a Strongman?
In normal circumstances, a strongman is an athlete who undertakes feats of strength: a Rambo-like figure who has muscles and all that. However, in the current pandemic and the current political climate globally, the strongmen I am talking about are leaders who rule through exercising violence, threats, or force.
Strongmen in Leadership in Governance
These are individuals who are essentially dictators who lead governments, states, and nations in authoritarian ways. The strongman is an individual who, despite having the responsibility to lead others with candor, justice, dignity, and openness, chooses to do what they want regardless of the consequences of their actions.
The Oppression that is Propagated by Strongmen
Strongmen have been around, and, sorry to say, have been a staple for centuries, if not millennia. The twentieth century became particularly proliferated with such leaders who, out of their evil or whatever forces, desires, or interests, had led the world to near ruin.
The civilization of humanity has led us to where we are today, and as free and unoppressed people, we may take advantage of our freedom and what it means. To be free is to live, get educated, work, and worship in one’s own home country or nation. When one can do neither nor all of these, they are not free and can are termed to have become oppressed.
What is Oppression and How Does It Relate to the Strongman Syndrome?
Oppression is a strong word and speaks of the horror that is the revocation, usurpation, or repudiation of one’s human rights and freedoms. Oppression is persecution and happens when an entity such as a government fails to do what it got mandated to do. The mandate entails protecting its citizens and allowing them their rights and freedoms, as envisaged in the law of the land or the constitution.
What is Strongmanism?
Subjugation is also part of oppression, and leaders who are strongmen politicians are inherently oppressors. In looking at and studying what strongmen do and why they do it, there are clear patterns that indicate the origins, causes, or underpinnings of ‘strongmanism.’
Who are Strongmen?
Strongmen are mostly individuals who are motivated by money, power, or a false sense of entitlement. These individuals masquerade their intent as just, honest and good while seeking their positions of power and, after being elected, will slowly show their true colors. Thank God we live in a time where democracy is alive and where the concept itself is appreciated and understood as what it can be and what it should be, fairness, equality, choice, and justice for all.
