Following the Leader

image from here

 

Five years ago, I blogged about my struggles as a leader. Was I a good leader? How did I know? My people were capable and easily able to perform their functions without my guidance. Our team's goals were clear . . . so what was my job, other than helping them with administrative matters and protecting them from distraction or dysfunction? As I said then, leadership is humbling, messy, lonely, and difficult to gauge effectiveness. I knew leaders were necessary, but I was trying to articulate how and why. The past few weeks have given me new insight.

In a nutshell, leaders are important because people follow them. The above image, taken from Disney's Peter Pan, is while they're singing 

Following the leader, the leader, the leader
We're following the leader

Wherever he may go

I've had that stuck in my head for the last week. We follow leaders- wherever they go. If the leader demonstrates character, people will emulate. If the leader demonstrates true concern for others, so will the followers. If the leader is fair and just, so go the people. But if the leader spouts nonsense, the followers will, too. If the leader (say) makes outrageous or unfounded claims, the people will parrot it. And if the leader goes off a cliff . . . many will go with him.

We've seen it many times in history- people follow the leader, for better or worse. It highlights the importance of a leader's character. Character matters tremendously. In the recent election, some (many?) were displeased with both major candidates, and thus focused on platforms while ignoring character. That can be disastrous. Character is important- because people emulate the character of their leaders. And character, in a way, is policy, as it shows what a leader truly believes through how they behave. Both behavior and belief matter. 

The Bible demonstrates this often. To the Christian, Jesus is our ultimate leader- the head of the body. In the Bible, it's clear that Christians are to be followers of, and not just believers in, Jesus. Even the demons believe in God, and so Christians are commanded to show their allegiance to the Lord through their conduct (see James 2:19-20). Consider the many times Jesus told people to follow Him (just a handful shown below):

Matthew 16:24: Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 

Matthew 19:21: Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

John 10:27: My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

John 8:12: Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

John 12:26: If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

John 21:21-22: When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!”

Following Jesus means obeying and emulating Him. Belief and behavior. In Romans, after Paul spends eleven chapters explaining what the Christian must believe, he turns to application- how they must behave as a result- and opens with this:

Romans 12:1: I appeal to you therefore, brothers,by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

Why? Because Jesus, too, was a sacrifice (see 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 and Mark 10:45). And we are to follow Him, being holy as He is (1 Peter 1:15-16). And not only was he a sacrifice, but he is fully God and fully man, made like us in every respect so He knows our temptations (see Hebrews 2:17-18 and 4:14-15). The perfect leader- he life demonstrated perfect obedience, perfect love, and perfect identification with the difficulties His followers face. May the Christian always follow Him above all else.

Here's the point: we follow leaders- we imitate their conduct. We are called to submit to authorities in this world, both governing authorities (see Romans 13) and church authorities (see Hebrews 13)- unless they contradict the commands of God ("We must obey God rather than men."- Acts 5:29b). We follow Jesus above all else, but we also follow earthly leaders. So as we submit to various earthly authorities, let us be mindful of whom we follow- for we will start to defend and imitate their qualities, for better or worse.

Azul

 

Today's review is of the 2017 release, Azul. For 2-4 players, it takes 30-45 minutes.

Overview

You are a tile-laying artist, charged by the Portuguese King to decorate the palace along the lines of the Moorish Alhambra. On your turn, you'll choose all tiles of the same style from either a factory [4 tiles in each to start] or the center [when tiles are picked from a factory, those not chosen go to the center]. You'll use these tiles to fill your board on the left-hand side rows; when all tiles from both factory and center are gone, you'll populate the right-hand side (where the rows require one of each type of tile) with one tile from your left-hand row (if that row is full), placing it in the appropriate square, then scoring points based on how many are adjacent. After all tiles have been placed, remaining tiles in formerly-full rows are emptied (partial rows carry over to the next round) and a new round begins. The game ends when one player has completely finished one row on the right-hand side. Final scoring is done, and highest tally wins!

Game in progress; image from here

Review

Simple to learn but difficult to master, this is a great game. I'd have to play it a few more times to better understand solid strategies (my 5-year-old was able to play and be competitive, by luck), but this one is a winner.

Rating: A

Ring of the Nibelung

 

Today's review is of the 2019 release, Ring of the Nibelung. For 2-5 players, it takes 20 minutes.

Overview

You are a great lord in the Norse legends (as portrayed by Richard Wagner's opera), trying to acquire wealth and- above all- the ring, which brings great power- but comes with a terrible curse. 

On your turn, you draw a card from the character deck (if able- your hand limit is two), play a character card to your great hall (if able- your character limit is six), activate a passive ability on your newly-played character (if they have one), then activate one active ability on one of your in-play characters. (Active abilities allow you to gain more treasure or characters, or make opponents lose them, among other things.) Then, if you have the ring- draw a treasure. If you don't have the ring, check to see if you have more influence than the player who does. If so, you get the ring, draw a treasure, and the losing player discards a character from their great hall and a treasure.

If you draw a Ragnarok card from the character deck, you  must discard a character from your great hall and a treasure, and your turn is over immediately. If it's the third Ragnarok card drawn, the game immediately ends and points (on characters and treasure) are tallied. Highest wins!

Some cards; image from here

Review

The penalties for losing the ring (discarding both a character and treasure) were so significant that this ended up feeling like a card game version of 'hot potato,' where the person who had the ring when the third ragnarok card was drawn was likely to win. It was okay, but not great. The abilities- enabling to steal other characters, discard them, gain treasure, etc.- were interesting, but the resulting back-and-forth felt like meaningful decisions were minimized. You knew you'd get characters and gold- and you knew you'd lose them. So you discarded your less valuable characters or your lesser treasures (when you had a choice) and hoped for the best. 

Rating: C+

Prince Caspian (C.S. Lewis)

Generations after The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe . . . Prince Caspian is a Telmarine and the rightful ruler of Narnia, but his evil Uncle Miraz has claimed the title for himself after murdering Caspian's father. Fleeing for his life, Caspian encounters the stuff of legends: talking animals, the ancient (and original) inhabitants of the land! They agree to help him go against his uncle, but it's clear more help is needed. Blowing a horn of legend, they hope to summon Kings Peter and Edmund, and Queens Susan and Lucy, to join the fight- and hope for Aslan, king of the world, to join them. But will they come? And will it be enough?

I first reviewed this in 2016 (here); I'm reviewing it again because the passage of four years (and reading it out loud to my kids) has given me a different take on the story. I still enjoyed it, but not quite as much as I did last time. It's good, not great. Some elements of wisdom, fun characters, etc., but not as profound or interesting as the first-published release in the series. Looking back on my thoughts on the entire series (here), I agreed then that it wasn't in the top half of the seven books (placing it fifth of seven); I wonder how I'll feel about the others now.

Rating: B

The Devil's Elixirs (E.T.A. Hoffmann)

 

The monk Medardus was brought up in a monastery, but that doesn't stop him from succumbing to a life of sin. Tempted by a local relic- a bottle of wine supposedly holding the devil's elixir- he drinks and enjoys fame but falls deeply to pride and lust, commits horrible crimes, and is psychologically tortured as he tries to escape. But there's more to the situation than meets the eye- a mysterious past, doppelganger, generational curse, and surprising connections to people he encounters confuse matters. Is hope lost, or is redemption still possible, even for the vilest of sinners?

I like gothic fiction (see a list of works here), so I enjoyed this. It featured typical elements of the genre, and was a nice 'spooky read' around Halloween. Some themes were good to reflect on- the reality of pride and its damage, the frailty of man, the horror of sin, and so on. It was confusing in places- the plot was complex and the connections difficult to follow- but good overall.

Rating: A-

Imperium (Christian Kracht)

 

In the early twentieth century, nudist and coconut-worshipper August Engelhardt departs Germany for the German colonies in the South Pacific. He buys an island (Kabakon) and spends his days in the sun, subsisting entirely off coconuts. His pamplet, penned years prior and distributed in Germany, attracts the occasional disciple, though they often leave mystified and repulsed after a short while. Engelhardt more frequently interacts with the natives who tend his coconut 'plantation.' He grows increasingly obsessive, paranoid, bizarre, solitary, and unhealthy, developing leprosy and other conditions. His journeys to nearby Herbertshöhe- the colonial 'capital' on a nearby island- are increasingly scarce and prove an annoyance to all. (The lives of some inhabitants there are covered, though in far less detail.) Eventually, he'd be discovered living in a cave by American soldiers after WWII and his fascinating story made into film.

This book- which has won multiple awards- was certainly captivating. It's absurd, entertaining (with wit and expert wordplay mildly reminiscent of Dave Barry) and in places profound. The translation was fantastic (and has itself won awards). It appears to be a cautionary tale about the dangers of extremism at its heart- and foreshadows the German horrors in the coming decades- though it also highlights (through many characters) the sadness, loneliness, and hopelessness experienced by so many in this life. I came across this in my "German Reading List" research, and I'm glad I read it, though I'm not sure I found it quite as astonishing or insightful as the reviews would suggest. One review called this a "delightful historical farce" (Sam Sacks, The Wall Street Journal). I agree- in fact, August Engelhardt did exist and live a similar life (though he died well before WWII), and other historical figures appear in here, too, though the details are often changed a good deal. 

Rating: A-

Celtic Tales (Kate Forrester, illustrator)

 

Celtic Tales is a collection of sixteen fairy tales, broadly categorized under the headings 'tricksters,' 'the sea,' 'quests,' and 'romance.' They were all adapted from one of four sources: The Scottish Fairy Book (Elizabeth Grierson, 1910), Wonder Tales of Ancient Wales (Bernard Henderson et. al., 1922), Folk Tales of Brittany (Elsie Masson, 1929), and Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry (W.B. Yeats, 1888). 

The stories are straightforward and enjoyable enough- familiar in moral and similar in story to your typical tale in the genre. People get tricked and have to be saved, undertake great feats for love or fortune, live happily ever after, learn a lesson, etc. I enjoyed the tales of fantastic beasts especially- a stoorworm, selkies, brownie, wyvern, etc. That said, I'm consistently taken in by books like this, and consistently disappointed. I think what I really seek are short stories similar in fantastic/supernatural content but written for adults and featuring marginally more suspense, character, or plot development. Something in the vein of M.R. James (ghost story writer) but with a Celtic theme and not necessarily spooky. Or maybe spooky is what I desire . . . perhaps I'm thinking back to those thrillingly scary tales in the Time-Life "Mysteries of the Unknown" book series I skimmed portions of as a child. (I wonder where those books went?) Banshees- I wanted to read more about Celtic banshee tales! I digress and apologize: the book doesn't have a problem, but it didn't quite scratch the itch.

Rating: A-