First of all, Happy President’s Day!
Now, to business…
Part 1 was more in-depth than this post is going to be — this time I just want to look at some basic elements of leadership that distinguish good leaders from bad, as exemplified by Ned Stark and Joffrey Baratheon.
Again, please be aware that there are some spoilers here.
We covered bad kingship in our look at Joffrey’s father (though not his biological father, as we soon learn), Robert. But unlike Robert, whose bad kingship is characterized more by a sort of laziness, Joffrey is a full-on tyrant whose mode of government is cold, deliberate, calculated force.
He, too, is a figure of the entrenched ego, but carried farther in the direction of its extreme.
Ned Stark stands out as a good leader. He is not perfect, by any means, but the way he exercises authority is exemplary and praiseworthy. That he is not dominated by his own ego is suggested to me by the dungeon scene, which occurs after Ned is arrested on a false accusation of treason.
Rather than betray his honor, Ned is ready to die a warrior’s death. True, he does end up acknowledging Joffrey’s kingship in order to save his family; whether or not this was the right decision can be debated, but his interest is clearly other-oriented, not self-oriented.
In any case, Ned has no interest in betraying his conscience to save his life. He explains to Varys the eunuch that a soldier “knows how to die.”
Christians are called to die daily to selfishness by imitating this kind of detachment:
Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it (Luke 17:33).
That’s precisely why Joffrey’s rule is one of terror and force: It’s all about him. From his perspective, his ascent to the throne is not about service to the Seven Kingdoms, the protection of his subjects, or any transcendent principle. It’s about his own exaltation, his own glory.
Concern for the greater good on Ned’s part is further evidenced by the quality of mercy. Ned is just, but he is no stranger to clemency. In this he shows the depth of his magnanimity. A true leader will be concerned about the common good, not his own aggrandizement.
And sometimes, the best way to serve the common good and to restore order is to reach out to perpetrators with the opportunity for redemption.
In his great book “Go in Peace,” Pope John Paul II had this to say about the relationship between mercy and societal well-being:
Forgiveness neither eliminates nor lessens the need for the reparation that justice requires, but seeks to reintegrate individuals and groups into society, and countries into the community of nations. No punishment should suppress the inalienable dignity of those who have committed evil. The door to repentance and rehabilitation must always remain open.
The ego, however, cannot take such chances. As far as it’s concerned, the only good enemy is a dead enemy.
Meanwhile, the good leader will give his neck to his enemy rather than betray his innate sense of what is right. So we can say that even in death, Ned Stark triumphs over Joffrey Baratheon.
Image of Pope John Paul II from Wikipedia; others obtained through a Google image search.