Real Talk with Judge Dawson
The Ignorance of Arrogance
I am completely fed up with the arrogance displayed in this world. On every level we witness people making moves and taking action that lead to an end result of nothing more than the fulfillment of person objectives. It has become obvious that too many people are only concerned with their own personal interests. I have discovered that much of this desire to fulfill person interest comes from a spirit of arrogance.
My years as an elected official have revealed to me that many of our leaders are arrogant. When I say leaders I am speaking local, statewide and even nationwide. I can give you several examples of leaders being arrogant but let me mention one close to home. I started a movement called “Adopt-a-Block in 2013 which has my staff, community service workers and myself volunteering our time to clean up the City of East Cleveland. Out of all the business people, community organizations, organizers etc… no one has offered to help the clean up effort. In fact, this past weekend many people stopped in amazement when they were driving down the street and saw Judge Dawson walking with a team picking up bottles and debris. If more leaders actually lead by example the entire community in Cleveland, East Cleveland and the world would be transformed.
Even beyond helping with community clean up efforts, another place where arrogance must disappear is in the attitudes of our leaders. Today’s leaders are too arrogant to talk to the “opposition,” too arrogant to seek knowledge of successful people, too arrogant to ask for help in time of need and too arrogant to look at their current situation and identify if the house is burning down. Leaders and people who are arrogant are not aware that arrogance can be a form of ignorance.
Arrogance is defined as an insulting way of thinking or behaving that comes from believing that you are better, smarter or more important than other people.
Ignorance is defined as a lack of knowledge or information.
Unfortunately, most don’t understand that if you are arrogant, (thinking or behaving as if you are better, smarter or more important than other people) you are ignorance (having a lack of knowledge).
All of my training, workshops and articles come from the stand point of being a “Cycle Breaker” meaning, I want us to all perform and live out the best version of ourselves. However, when you combine those two definitions, finding yourself so arrogant to be ignorant, you are far from being a “Cycle Breaker.”
When a person acts in a manner suggesting that they are smarter or more important than other people they are ignorant to the fact that no one is more important than anyone. Though you may have a title, and I wrote about the respect that is due to a person with a title, that title does not make you better than anyone. Instead, with a title, you are trusted to take on very specific responsibilities that “entitle” you to support and respect. It’s not that you are better than anyone. The problem is that when people have titles they get to the point where no one can tell them anything. When no one can tell you anything you are approaching destruction.
When I was elected to the position of Judge of the East Cleveland Municipal Court I reached out to many people to get their wisdom, advise and assistance. It was not beneath me to seek support. However, today most elected officials, businessmen and leaders are so caught up on being “the man” that they never seek the wisdom of other people. In the greater Cleveland area, which includes the surrounding suburbs, there are cities in trouble, not just the City of East Cleveland. If, instead of being caught up on being “the man,” we all decided to work together, this entire region could be transformed. Working together doesn’t mean criticizing others, speaking out on issues just to get a rise from your constituents or bullying others. Instead, real leaders try to seek the greatest good for all people concerned and that means being able to work without arrogance.
When it’s all said and done and we reach the end of our road, arrogant people wont’ have much to look back on. They may have a legacy of being shrewd and hard core but you can’t bully your way into heaven. Instead of being arrogant and ignorant, seek cooperation and seek to do what’s best and what’s right. When we work together with knowledge and a spirit of cooperation we can make this world a better place.
For more discussion on this subject or others, join Judge Dawson’s Cycle Breaker/Finish First program on Monday nights at 5:30pm at the East Cleveland Municipal Court. ALSO, on April 21, 2014 at 5:30 pm, join us for a forum on “HEROIN IN THE SUBURBS” with Judge Michael Astrab of the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas! East Cleveland Municipal Court’s Judge William L. Dawson is on a mission to help people to Finish First, live their best lives and be Cycle Breakers!
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