When Leaders Get Messiah Complexes

Thursday , October 23, 2008
By Col. Oliver North

On Wednesday this week, I was an unwilling eyewitness to a dramatic political event and it made me wonder where we are headed as a nation. More on that in a moment. First, a little background.

There is no doubt that leadership matters. The study of human history provides evidence that empires -- even entire civilizations -- rise and fall on the ideas, virtues and skills of great leaders. From Mesopotamia to the European continent, those who chronicled the triumphs and failures of great leaders in the Western world measured success based on military prowess and territory conquered. Herodotus detailed how the Persian Empire, built by Darius, eventually succumbed to Alexander the Great in the 5th Century B.C. That vision of leadership began to change in what is now Israel.

Old Testament prophets described a Messiah -- in Aramaic, měshīhā -- a leader -- a savior who would deliver the Jewish people from their travails. For more than two millennia, Christians have believed that the Messiah is Jesus of Nazareth and that at the appointed time he will come again in triumph. Unfortunately, in the modern era there have many other leaders who perceived that they had messianic qualities that only they could provide.

Napoleon, in the aftermath of the bloody French Revolution, described himself as "essential" to the future of France - and was appointed dictator. The aftermath was a disaster for his countrymen and much of Europe.

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