History often uncovers the truth about the world of power and political order: There is rarely just one person making all the decisions. In most cases, even authoritarian leadership falls victim to the implementation of advisory panels, which emphasizes the importance of a sound advisor. The democracy the West is used to nowadays is built upon the idea of getting advice from the citizens to create efficient governments. The idea of an advisor is familiar in our daily lives as we try to navigate the modern social landscape making as few mistakes as possible. We count on guidance from our family and friends, as well as mentors and teachers. When it comes to politics, it is important to examine the value of sound advisors by dissecting various examples from historical and religious sources.
History is full of influential leaders, who have had an advisor (or a group of them) to receive additional council and support. The practice dates back to the beginning of times and allows leaders to gain the benefit of including the perspectives and points of view they may not be aware of at the time of making a decision. One of the most crucial examples would be military advisors, who could be leaned upon during war. Genghis Khan, once the ruler of most of Eurasia, had Yelu Chai to provide him with the council (Full Circle Coaching and Consulting, 2019). Frederick Lindermann served as an important scientific advisor to Winston Churchill during World War II due to his excellent knowledge of physics and mechanics (Full Circle, 2019). The Nazi regime in Germany was represented by Joseph Goebbels and Rudolph Hess the most trusted advisors to Adolf Hitler (Full Circle, 2019). It is apparent that by participating in a discussion regarding the most crucial issues, advisors to political leaders can either be a challenging force or a supportive life jacket. They have a certain level of authority and influence, which is why dismissing them could be a fatal mistake.
On the one hand, history demonstrates that advisors provide expertise, challenge the conventional ideas of governance, and develop a symbiotic relationship with their supervisors. On the other hand, however, there are various examples of advisors conning the monarchs and democratic leaders. One of such incidents occurred in 16th century England, when Sir Francis Walsingham, the secretary of Elizabeth I, plotted the execution of the Queen’s cousin Mary, former Queen of Scotland (Teich, 2019). This shows the unreliability and lack of loyalty from advisors that some leaders have to deal with.
As for the Bible, the religious doctrine Christians can count on for daily matters indicates the importance of following good advice. Proverbs 11:14 states that “For lack of guidance a nation falls,” highlighting the significance of good council to any political leader (King James Bible, 1769/2017). The Bible, however, also mentions that a wise man should stay away from wicked advice, which can be deceitful and harmful. 1 Kings 12 describes the aftermath of Solomon’s death and the inauguration of Rehoboam (King James Bible, 1769/2017). Following the advice of his contemporaries, the new king lost the alliance of two southern tribes (Judah and Benjamin), which decided to create their union. Listening to advisors, who are trying to please rather than help, and doing it blindly can lead to trouble. Therefore, it is extremely important to choose the right people, and even then, try to critically assess their suggestions and opinions.
My attitudes towards advice and guidance are mostly positive because I have experienced a fair share of situations, where a conversation with my parents or friends helped me to resolve a particularly complicated issue. For instance, one of the most challenging subjects at my high school was U.S. history, which put a lot of pressure on me and my team in a group project worth 20 percent of the final grade. As a group leader, I had to make decisions regarding the topic of the presentation. We could either go with the safe choice or try to talk about the U.S. foreign policy issue no one picked due to its complexity and many small details. After a thorough discussion with the team (the girl in charge of the content for the presentation, in particular), I informed our teacher of my team’s decision to take a less conventional route and stick to a harder topic. I coordinated my group quite effectively, and the teacher appreciated our effort to talk about something more complex, which led to an A+.
References
Full Circle Coaching and Consulting (2019). The role of advisors in history and in your life. Web.
King James Bible. (2017). King James Bible Online. Web. (Original work published 1769).
Teich, I. (2019). Historical leaders who were conned by their closest advisors.Ranker. Web.