Judging leaders in a city of masks: Competence versus charisma in times of crisis

“ I feel certain that it is venturesome to attempt to bring a work of a Bohemian writer before the English-speaking public, now the largest public of readers in the world. Even the name of my country has been known to English readers only in connection with associations that are both incongruous and absurd.
It seems to me certain that the judgment that Bohemian critics have passed on Komensky's masterpiece, the "Labyrinth of the World," claiming it to be one of the world's great books, is not unfounded or based on patriotic predilections. ”

“ Its men and women hide behind a million masks; no man looks beneath the mask his neighbour wears, for he is interested only in that which he sees with the least possible effort: the surface. He sees his neighbour but he knows him not. He keeps his own mask in place and wanders among the millions, secure in the thought that all other men are as casual as he,—and as charitable.
From time to time the newspapers come forward with stories that amaze and interest those of us who remain, and always will remain, romantic and impressionable. ”

“ In this City of Masks there are hundreds of men and women in whose veins the blood of a sound aristocracy flows. By choice or necessity they have donned the mask of obscurity. They tread the paths of oblivion. They toil, beg or steal to keep pace with circumstance. But the blood will not be denied. In the breast of each of these drifters throbs the pride of birth, in the soul of each flickers the unquenchable flame of caste. The mask is for the man outside, not for the man inside. ”

“ My guides, and indeed those of everyone who gropes through this world, are two. Insolence of the mind, which inquires into everything, and inveterate custom with regard to all things, which gives the colour of truth to the deceits of the world. ”

“ As a nation, we can’t accept such a cruel fate. While we have been fighting this pandemic for so long, we have to resist becoming numb to the sorrow. We have to resist viewing each life as a sta- — as a statistic or a blur or on the news. ”

“ You know, as nearly 10 million Americans remain unemployed — more than 250,000 right here in North Carolina — the American Jobs Plan will create millions of jobs. It will be the largest jobs investment our country has made since World War Two. ”

“ The COVID–19 pandemic has exposed and exacerbated severe and pervasive health and social inequities in America. For instance, people of color experience systemic and structural racism in many facets of our society and are more likely to become sick and die from COVID-19. The lack of complete data, disaggregated by race and ethnicity, on COVID–19 infection, hospitalization, and mortality rates, as well as underlying health and social vulnerabilities, has further hampered efforts to ensure an equitable pandemic response. ”

“ Today, the American Rescue Plan is very close to becoming the law of the land. And now we need to help ensure that relief is distributed equitably — equitably. And that means we need to acknowledge, as so many of us do — we need to acknowledge the pandemic has made worse the fissures and the flaws and failures that already existed in our systems and in our structures. We’ve seen that race and place matter a lot in how well protected a person is from the virus or not. And race and place have played a role in access to services. ”

“ Observed inequities in rural and Tribal communities, territories, and other geographically isolated communities require a place-based approach to data collection and the response. Despite increased State and local efforts to address these inequities, COVID–19’s disparate impact on communities of color and other underserved populations remains unrelenting.
Addressing this devastating toll is both a moral imperative and pragmatic policy. It is impossible to change the course of the pandemic without tackling it in the hardest-hit communities. ”

“ Consider only in the first place what kind of judgment you will leave to be passed upon you by men, if these, who in the times of others were with just reason put down, find under your administration a way for their excesses. ”

“ United States Global Leadership to Strengthen the International COVID-19 Response and to Advance Global Health Security and Biological Preparedness
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a grave reminder that biological threats, whether naturally occurring, accidental, or deliberate, can have significant and potentially existential consequences for humanity. ”

“ I know how hard it is right now to be mindful of preventive care. The COVID–19 pandemic has disrupted so many parts of our lives, including, for far too many, the routine checkups and screenings that are so vital to guarding against disease. ”

“ The pandemic has both reinforced the importance of that duty and tested our capacity to meet it — the virus has exacerbated the quiet harm of social isolation among seniors around the world, a condition that makes abuse, neglect, and exploitation more likely. Having lost so many cherished seniors to this virus, we must recommit ourselves to fully including older Americans in our communities and systems of support. We must care for one another — and leave no one behind. ”

“ Even as Americans endure a record surge, new mutations of the coronavirus pose the threat of even faster spread. Viruses regularly evolve, and at least four new variants of the coronavirus have been identified in recent weeks. The United States is not alone in this fight; the pandemic has impacted countries and people around the globe. The virus, including new variants in recent weeks, has laid bare the connections between our health and that of other countries. ”

“ It’s a once-in-a-lifetime, once-in-a-generation investment in America’s infrastructure, in America’s future. It is what the American people deserve. It will keep our nation competitive, it will build up our nation’s communities, and it will put our nation back to work. ”

“ And very soon, the President of the United States, Joe Biden, will sign the American Rescue Plan into law.
So, for a year now, we have faced this crisis of almost immeasurable proportions, impacting the health of our communities, the livelihood of our businesses, and the education of our children. Through it all, local leaders — you — have been in the thick of it. You are the ones who get called when there aren’t enough vaccine doses to go around. You’re the ones fighting to make sure first responders can keep their jobs. ”

“ I talked about how, in America, we not only dream, we do. We not only see what has been, we see what can be. We shoot for the moon, and then we plant our flag on it.
And now we are already 90 days into our administration and, folks, we have seen American aspiration at work. We set a goal to get 100 million shots in arms in 100 days. And through the innovation of scientists, the hard work of manufacturers, and the determination of the American people, we will soon pass 200 million. ”

“ A Great Experiment takes great determination—the will to do the work and then the wisdom to keep refining, keep tinkering, keep perfecting.
The same determination is being realized in America today.
I see it in the scientists who are transforming the future. ”

“ And as you will hear in a moment, President Joe Biden is a leader with great will, great determination, and even greater empathy. He has seen the grief of all of those who have lost a loved one to gun violence. It is for them, for all of us, that he will never, ever give up on this fight. ”

“ An electrician in Helena could get a good job laying broadband lines a few towns over. A forklift operator right here in Greensboro could get a good job fixing the road they drive on every day.
Now, the phrase “good job” is one you’ve probably heard a lot about, but I want to break down what I mean when I talk about a good job. In the 21st century, in America, I believe you should not have to work more than one job to be able to pay your bills and feed your family. (Applause.) One good job should be enough.
At a good job, you shouldn’t have to worry about your safety. ”

“ A good job allows people the freedom to build the life you want, to reach as high as you want, to aspire. That’s what a good job does.
And good jobs are what the President and I will create with the American Jobs Plan. We will draw on the skills that millions of workers in our country already have. ”

“ The truth is a lot of jobs out there require some education after high school. Let’s speak that truth: The truth is that almost every job that will be a good job will require some amount of education after high school. ”

“ We can’t just talk about higher education without thinking about what kind of training Americans need to get hired. Instead of simply framing it as higher education, let’s create a variety of opportunities for education after high school. ”

“ So now the best way, I also believe, to get a good job is through a strong union. Union members have better pay, better healthcare, better retirement, better protections on the job. I believe every worker in America deserves the ability to organize or join a union.
And there’s another thing about American jobs and the American Jobs Plan. It will not only create good jobs, it will have a big impact — impact — on communities. It will have a big impact on people’s quality of life at home.
Let’s talk about, for example, broadband. The world runs online. ”

“ And yet, millions of Americans, many of whom live in rural America, do not have access to broadband. And if they do, it is not affordable.
Broadband impacts our economy. It impacts our education system, our healthcare system. And I’m talking about small business owners who don’t have the literal bandwidth to grow their businesses; students who can’t study at home, who have to drive to the local McDonald’s, to the parking lot, to get access to their WiFi; seniors who haven’t seen their doctor because, in the middle of a pandemic, telemedicine is not an option for them. ”

“ The President and I are determined to make sure that every person in our country can access broadband and afford it.
Let’s talk about water. There are more than 1 million miles of pipes that deliver drinking water to homes across America. For as many as 10 million American families — many, families of color — those pipes are made of lead.
So here’s what drinking water from a lead pipe can do to the human body. For adults, it can increase your blood pressure and decrease kidney function. For children, it stunts growth and can cause damage to the brain. ”

“ And by way of introduction to the discussion, as everyone knows, a few weeks ago, the President asked me to take on a role of leadership in addressing the root causes of migration and to focus on the Northern Triangle countries, similar to the work he did when he was Vice President years ago.
And so the work we are doing is informed by that approach and that strategy and that direction. It is work that also is informed, for me, by certain — just basic principles and beliefs.
One is that most people don’t want to leave home. They don’t want to leave the place where their grandparents lived. ”

“ We are all very clear the work that we have the potential to do in the Northern Triangle will not evidence itself overnight by any stretch.
We are looking at issues that have been a long time in the making. We are looking at issues that relate to the need for economic development, a need for resilience around extreme climate ”

“ CHAPTER III THE CITY OF MASKS NEW YORK is not merely a melting pot for the poor and the humble of the lands of the earth. In its capacious depths, unknown and unsuspected, float atoms of an entirely different sort: human beings with the blood of the high-born and lofty in their veins, derelicts swept up by the varying winds of adversity, adventure, injustice, lawlessness, fear and independence. ”

“ You should bear in mind that, the greater the power, the more jealous is the law of its careful exercise, and the greater is the responsibility of the persons vested therewith. You should exercise a cool, careful, intelligent, and unbiased judgment. The compensation or damages must be neither inadequate nor excessive, and your award must not furnish a just inference of the existence of undue influence, partiality, bias, and prejudice, or unfaithfulness in the discharge of the duties imposed upon you. ”

“ I fancy Sir Frank himself felt some sympathy with me, though he was too wise to express it.
“A man must expect to be judged to some extent by the company he keeps,” he had hinted. “You can’t expect the head of a Department like the Home Office to feel easy at the idea of entrusting important secrets to a young man who spends his nights, I won’t say in disreputable company, but at all events in circles where a good many adventurers are found. These people”—the bitter note came back into his voice—“these people hate the shoulders on which they have climbed. ”

“ They retreated without dignity to a safe distance where all stopped. One said, "I say! we must see what has happened to the poor chap". Another: "So many of us and loaded guns! We must do something". A third: "let's get back and kill the beast". ”

“ The court said:
'Now, what is justifiable homicide? When can a man slay another? When can he sit as a judge passing upon the law, and a jury passing on the facts, and then as a jury applying the law to those facts, and finding a verdict, and then acting again as a court and entering up judgment, and then going out as a marshal or sheriff and executing that judgment, all at the same time, determining the law,-determining the facts as a judge, jury, and executioner all at the same time? This is a mighty power in the hands of the citizen. ”

“ The judgment in that case did not conclude the United States, as the opinion carefully stated, but held the officers liable as unauthorized trespassers, and turned them out of their unlawful possession.
3. A third class, which has given rise to more controversy, is where the law has imposed upon an officer of the government a well-defined duty in regard to a specific matter, not affecting the general powers or functions of the government, but in the performance of which one or more individuals have a distinct interest capable of enforcement by judicial process. ”

“ To hold that these humble but necessary public duties can only be undertaken at the hazard of personal liability for every judgment which they fail to levy and collect, whether through mistake, ignorance, inadvertence, or accident, as a sheriff is for an escape, without any proof that the judgment creditor has lost his debt, or that its value is in any manner impaired, is a doctrine too harsh to be enforced in any court where imprisonment for debt has been abolished. ”

“ With this, then, we have approached the nature of a proposition or judgment. A proposition is composed not of words, nor yet of thoughts, but of concepts. Concepts are possible objects of thought; but that is no definition of them. It merely states that they may come into relation with a thinker; and in order that they may do anything, they must already be something. It is indifferent to their nature whether anyone thinks them or not. They are incapable of change; and the relation into which they enter with the knowing subject implies no action or reaction. ”

“ The world will believe but in that which it sees, touches, holds in its hand. The Christian, on the other hand, is so wholly absorbed in invisible, absent, future things that those that are before him disgust him. The world ever demands proof; the Christian thinks the Word of God alone sufficient. The world seeks bonds, pledges, pawns, seals; the Christian sets up faith alone as a security for all things. The world examines things for her own purpose in divers fashions, distrusts, tests, suspects. The Christian relies fully on the truthfulness of God. ”

“ The shopman pulled the trigger of the gun he held. There was a deafening roar and the tiger disappeared from the hillock. Then all became still. They knew by the roar of pain that he was hit. Tigers are clever and often feign death when wounded. They dared not descend. They were not sure he that he was killed. At any moment he might attack their tree. Comrades in enterprise and fear, they sat gripping each other in the darkness, for the moon had now set.
The villagers had heard the shot and at day-break came to the spot. They found the tiger lying dead at the foot of the hillock. ”