June 18, 1815, Napoleon's dreams of a renewed empire were smashed at the Battle of Waterloo. And according to Wendell Phillips everyone will meet their Waterloo. Unlucky Napoleon took a dreadful number of people with him at his Waterloo.
This brings me to a question asked by Sholom Aleichem's beggar character when the beggar's daily benefactor turned him away, saying "I lost a great deal of money this week" and the beggar replied, "Just because you had a bad week, why should I suffer?"
When a poor boss, politician or business person meets his or her Waterloo, why should we the public suffer? It is about time all of these categories of leaders remember a sad fact. Their acts of greed and dreams of power that brought them to their own Waterloo effected a dreadful number of people.
It is interest that Napoleon looks like a class act beside these modern day "captains of industry and government." The Little General accepted his defeat and went quietly into exile. He did not call a press conference or go to court to claim he was a victim of circumstances. Nor did he say, "I am just doing what all the Emperors are doing." No he went with dignity in the middle of all his shame. And history remembers him with awe.
Present day leaders don't seem to know what dignity is in defeat. Perhaps we should have realized this when they started inflating their salaries and bonuses into numbers found only in rarified atmospheres. Or when they created pensions equivalent to what could support five or six families, who know only honest work. And will pay even if they are serving time for dishonest work.
I am tired of prominent government and business leaders dragging our nation down with them every time they hit their own Waterloo. If you fail, are defeated or ejected from your position for wrong doing please just go away. In other words act like a real Emperor and go into exile gracefully. Your time in power is over with for now. Good bye, adios, so long its been good to know you. Now git!
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