The bully pulpit and other political devices.........

   Definition: According to Wikipedia, a “bully pulpit” is defined as a position sufficiently conspicuous to provide an opportunity to speak out and be listened to.

   I recently came across an article about Theodore Roosevelt, one of our more colorful American Presidents and remembered that he had coined the phrase “bully pulpit”, using the White House as his 'pulpit' from which he attempted to generate public support for his political policies and agendas. For sure, being President of the United States, today more commonly referred to as POTUS, is certainly a position of power and of potentially significant influence, a 'bully pulpit' for those who wish to be leaders. But along with that advantage of 'the pulpit' comes responsibility and a level of respect for the influence it yields. Perhaps local state houses also become 'bully pulpits' for governors or wanna be's and other local leaders as well.

   Before going on, however, let me add that in the days of President Roosevelt, the word 'bully' had a much different meaning than it does today, a more positive meaning. 'Bully' was an adjective meaning wonderful, superb, outstanding. When someone shouted “bully for you” it meant “good for you!”

   Today, however, the term 'bully' has a different meaning. A 'bully' is someone who uses 'negative tactics' as a way to force, intimidate or dominate others, bullying tactics.

   From a bit of my past, at a fairly young age, Timmy Barrett would attempt to bully me on the playground after school in an attempt to get me to give him my baseball glove. No way! Of course, my first name often contributed to taunts and name-calling as well from some of his friends.... until the day I picked up a stick and whacked Timmy across his forehead. From that point on and after a trip to the principal's office, Timmy never bothered me again.

   From the days of Teddy Roosevelt to 2017, being a bully has evolved from being “wonderful and superb” to being someone who uses force and coercion to get what they want. Sound familiar?

  Having been on the side of one who has been bullied, at the time I was too young to really understood the motivation and reasons. Yes, I had a nice baseball glove, lived in a home with a mother and father, did not live on the street or was not homeless as a child.

   I had goals and dreams. True. I came from a middle class family, although some thought my family was rich. I wanted to go on to college, become successful at a job and raise a family. I felt an obligation to give back to my country and community. I wasn't angry, didn't carry a chip on my shoulder because I had been forced out of my house to live on the street or feel the need to make fun of others others who I perceived as better than I was. I had the support of caring adults in my life, both family and friends.

   A person can not walk through any school hallway at any grade level in Maine without seeing the signs and posters about “bullying'. “Just Say No to Bullying.” This is a Bully-Free Zone.

   But I have come to the conclusion, over time and life experiences, that the key to whether someone becomes a bully or remains as one as an adult is rooted in role models and a feeling of being in control of one's life. The prerequisites for success are a matter of perception. If a person feels there is an imbalance is social or political power then that person will use the behaviors they feel necessary to either level the playing field or in some cases, even gain the upper hand. And often those behaviors will follow into adulthood.

   I often wonder what motivates someone to run for a political office. Is it a desire to serve, to give back in some way to those who had been a positive impact on a life or is it driven by the need to gain or regain control over something which there is little or no control. Is it to gain the advantage of having a 'bully pulpit' in order to be heard?

   It was easy for me to pick up the stick and hit Timmy in the forehead. It felt good! And although I was frustrated at the time with Timmy's constant bullying me, standing up to the bullying may have turned out to be a good thing. I proved to myself and others at a young age that I could take on the bully and win.

   In its original definition, a 'bully pulpit ' was a position of conspicuous opportunity to speak out and be listened to. But that definition has changed. What happens when a 'bully pulpit' becomes nothing more than a present day 'bully'? Is that effective leadership? And what happens when the bully realizes that no one is listening or cares any more?