Throughout
history, leaders of victorious movements and rebellions are considered heroes,
usually rightfully so. Gandhi, one of King’s major influencers, led India to
freedom from oppressive Britain, doing so non-violently. People paint him as a
strong, amazing hero, and that isn’t all wrong. However, while he was a hero,
he also was human, and had deep flaws just like anyone else. Gandhi was accused
of the following: “sleeping
naked with teenage girls to test his chastity, exhibiting racist attitudes towards
the blacks of South Africa, being a firm in the discriminative and cruel Caste
system that dominated India, referring to Adolf Hitler as a ‘friend’, and
allowing his wife to die from pneumonia” [1]. These are just some of Gandhi’s
faults; the list goes on. However, these sins so not discredit the tremendous
work he did in leading India to liberation. When people talk about Gandhi, instead
of describing him as one extreme or another, either a perfect hero or a
worthless monster, they should find a balance. They should refer to him as a flawed
human that was gifted with immense bravery leadership abilities. Being the face
of a movement and being sinful are not mutually exclusive.
King
illustrated this same point. While he was a true hero and courageously galvanized
and led so may movements for racial justice, he had faults as well. King had
been known to be unfaithful to his wife, not just once but multiple times and
over a long span of time. This flaw is especially wrong, considering his role
as a pastor. It seems hypocritical to stand at the pulpit preaching God’s Word
on one day, and then turning around and cheating on his wife another day. That
being said, this flaw does not define him. His actions were inexcusable, but
all humans commit inexcusable sins every day. This fault in King serves to
paint a more realistic picture of King; he was not a perfect person. Like Gandhi,
his flaws do not detract from the work he accomplished in the United States and
globally to fight racial injustice. He was an amazing leader and preacher,
without a doubt, but he was also a human.
Both
Gandhi’s and King’s flaws did not affect their leadership abilities. Their flaws
revealed that they too were human, just like the rest of us. We all have
certain gifts and things that we are good at, and their gifts happened to be wisdom
and leadership. When learning about important leadership figures, we must not
worship them as perfect or divine people. All people are sinful, some are just
really good at leadership.
Power,
Joseph. “Op-Ed: A Look at the Many Flaws of Mohandas Gandhi,” Digital Journal: A Global Digital Media
Network, 28 Mar. 2012, http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/321957
Do you think people were fully aware of the acquisitions King and Gandhi? The people of that time. If so, do you think they were turning their heads to pretend not to see it or were there people that were so against their womanizing lifestyle that King and Gandhi lost followers? I did not even learn about this until this class. If you told me weeks ago that MLK had multiple affairs I would not believe it. What did their followers think? Both very religious men yet still able to be great leaders. why did this go under the radar?
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