I wish I thought of that

Quoted below is a post on the Parapundit blog in its entirety:

Stop Calling Elected Officials Leaders

Modest proposal: We should stop calling our elected officials "leaders". We should stop referring to the "national leadership". We should stop calling for "strong leadership". We should stop seeking to be led.

I agree we should stop though I don't remember ever having called an elected official my leader.

One of the comments intelligently, if depressingly, explained the phenomenon:

Unfortunately, it is the genetic nature of the majority of the human species to need leaders, especially when there is a confusing situation that threatens the usual way of life.

For example, the 9/11 event that was an unexpected and difficult to understand situation, made the majority of the nation far more submissive and obedient to the leadership, and the nation became willing to do things that were against its best interests, without thinking.

Similar situations have occurred every time a nation suffered a major military-economic setback like Germany after WW I, of Japan facing a terrible economic collapse before WW II. The list is endless.

But the fascinating question is how exactly leaders whose IQ scores are only slightly above average, can gain so much power during crisis. It must be a combination of factors, such as charisma and intensity of personality of the leaders that easily influence the masses that are desperate to be told what to do during crisis, and also the fact that behind these leaders, there are some very intelligent people who do the calculations (always so).

This phenomenon of mass servility during crisis, is an area of psychology that must be studied more seriously and thoroughly, because history repeats itself without duplicating itself, and it is difficult to discern when and how exactly the mass servility phenomenon will spontaneously manifest itself.

A few observations,

I think "fuhrer" means leader.

If the commenter Wolf-Dog is correct, most of us are Aristotle's natural slaves. Except of course you and I.

It exists at all levels. Even Ralph Adams Cram supported FDR.

Can we as a species overcome this? Let's say together, "Yes We can!"