One of the perils of life that I have observed over the years is that people in positions of power tend to surround themselves with “yes-men.” Of course, this can also include women but the problem is the same–if your surround yourself only with people who agree with you, then you never hear the other side of the story.

This is what happens often with dictators, and it is what happened to Vladimir Putin. He has always wanted to invade Ukraine and restore the old Soviet Union, so he surrounded himself with people who would support that narrative. Now we see the result.

As you study American history, you can see that the best Presidents were those who surrounded themselves with people who were strong, who stood up for the truth, and who would tell a powerful President what they really believed. Franklin Delano Roosevelt did this but probably the greatest example was Abraham Lincoln. A book about Lincoln’s Cabinet is titled Team of Rivals. Lincoln put people in high places in his administration not only who disagreed with him but who had run against him–William Seward probably being the best example.

The “yes-man” problem is not only a problem in government. It can happen in business or in other areas of life. Someone gets rich, thinks he is the smartest guy in town and surrounds himself with “yes-men.”

History is replete with business leaders who have “gone down the tubes” believing their own press releases and listening only to what they want to hear.

Winston Churchill once said: “No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except for those other forms that have been tried from time to time.” Dispute and political haggling are always a problem with democracies, but the alternative is usually a one-man system (dictatorship) full of worshipping and adoring “yes-men.” When that happens, you get no honest or truthful information–only the one-way communication of the weak and conniving.

So, this gets us back to what happened in Russia with Vladimir Putin. He didn’t expect that Ukrainians would put up any meaningful resistance when he invaded. His “guts” and personal views were that Ukraine would be crushed, would quickly fold, and that he would take control of the country. He surrounded himself with people to back up that view. Now he is stuck in a quagmire in Ukraine with thousands of his troops (including up to 7 generals) having been killed.

Usually, people in power who get themselves into this kind of mess will have things fixed so that others will “fall on their sword” to take the blame. There has already been a report that a Russian intelligence chief is under house arrest. The sycophants and “yes-men” will now become the scapegoats.

The bottom line is that though we may find disagreement and differing viewpoints to be unsavory and “hard to swallow,” it is still better than having a “yes-man” operation running the show. I am sure that Joe Biden would rather not have to deal with dissident Democrats or criticizing Republicans on Capitol Hill. But, he and we are better served because our democracy is structured to bring dissident voices and variant opinions into the arena of public policy making.

Churchill was right. Despite all of its shortcomings, democracy is still the best choice that mankind has found as a means to govern itself.

Rolland Kidder is a Stow resident.