Leaders, Do We Need Them

You've probably heard it often enough through your life such remarks as: "What we need is someone who is a leader," "Our program builds leadership," and "He was a great leader." I suppose for people who are not self starters or who cannot operate effectively unless told exactly what to do or are too lazy to put effort into making decisions, a leader is a necessity. But think about it, for most things, the majority of people get along pretty damn well in their daily lives without being told what to do. When organizing a group effort, most of the time people can reach a consensus fairly rapidly.

It seems to me that people who strive for leadership roles are egoists who think that they know better than other people how to run things. There is also the motive of having power over others. In addition, in most societies, leaders are honored and rewarded.

In my view so-called "leaders" do more harm than good. The stronger the leader, the more arbitrary and dictatorial are his or her decisions. Think about some people who were considered great leaders, Napoleon, Hitler, Stalin, Lenin, Ghenghis Khan, Julius Caesar. It is power hungry leaders and their sheeplike followers who make war, order genocide, and oppress people.

Of course many organizations in a modern society are organized hierarchically. I believe this stems from the olden days when emperors, kings and religious leaders who organized according to a military standard. In a hierarchical organization power starts from the top and propagates downward. This gave the power hungry the ability to lord over others. In today's world, this also holds true, although in democratic countries such as our, the leader's drive for absolute power is somewhat tempered by other forces.

But the truth is that most organizations would probably run as smoothly without a leader. It is the much maligned bureaucracy who keep the organization going. When important decisions had to be made, they could be made by experts after due consideration, perhaps in committee.

New Gas Saving Devices

In a time of soaring gasoline prices, carbon dioxide emission that are causing global warming and calls for less dependence on foreign oil, we need to think about devices that use fewer oil product. I've discovered a few that do not require gasoline, ethenol, hydrogen or fuel made from coal. Most of these devices have the additional advantage that they increase muscle power and aid in reducing unwanted weight. Here they are:
The Engineless Lawn Mower.

Unmotorized Air Conditioner

Gasolineless Snow Thrower

The Leg Powered Transport

Un-Car Grocery Carrier

Gasless Clothes Dryer

Who Is Papa Joe

I call myself Papa Joe. But who is Papa Joe? First I'll give you the bio I usually send to publishers and then expand on that. For more information about my novels and anthologies plus some free stories and serials, go to my web site at http://papajoesfantasticworld.com

I've loved science fiction and fantasy from the time I learned to read. My hobbies, besides writing, are traveling, adventure game playing and do-it-yourself projects. Before I retired, I was a technical writer at a major computer manufacturer. Several short stories of mine have been published in E-zines, and I've sold a series of dark fantasy novels called The Morgaine Chronicles to Renaissance E Books. These novels may be purchase from Renaissance's Page Turner Editions, http://pageturnereditions.com or at Fictionwise E-Books http://www.fictionwise.com . Renaissance has also published three collections of my short stories, The Sands of Time, Mordrake's Apprentice, and Hearts Among the Stars: two SF novels, Star Tower and The Bagod and a dark fantasy called The Laws of Magic. Mundania Press http://www.mundania.com has published The Book of Retslu, a humorous fantasy.


I was born and raised in a working class neighborhood in Chicago. My love of reading stems from my parents and grandparents, who were all avid readers. As a child, one of my favorite things was hanging out at the library or browsing in flea markets for books I could afford. One day my parents took me to see a most wondrous movie, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. It made me a believer. From that time on, I read every Oz book I could get my hands on. I also loved comic books, especially the ones in the SF genre, Planet Comics, Superman, Captain Marvel, etc. I also liked mathematics and science, especially astronomy.


When I was twelve or so, I discovered the pulp magazines. They had garish covers and were printed on blotting paper, but the insides were marvelous. Even the letter columns were interesting. In these magazines, and the slicks and paperbacks that followed a few years later, I learned to love such writers as Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, Robert Silverberg and so many others. About that time I decided I wanted to write in the genre, but never got started until many years later.


I was drafted into the army at the end of the Korean War and was sent to Germany, where I worked as a microwave repairman. Also, I married a girl who went to the same high school as I did, who I met at a party after I graduated high school. We've been married over fifty years now. We have four wonderful girls, ten grandchildren (most whom are adults now) and one spunky six-year-old great-granddaughter.


For most of my working life, I was a technical writer for a major computer firm. I learned many things there about computers, about writing and about people and corporations. I lived the Dilbert cartoon. Because of my work, my wife and I moved to a small town in upstate New York where the manufacturing plant was located. We still live there, although the company has since closed the plant.


In 1993, I retired. That's when my fiction writing career started. First I sold a few short stories to E-zines. (I use "sold" loosely. I've seldom got a paycheck .) Then I sold a novel to a POD publisher and another to an E-zine publisher. The pay is meager, but I enjoy writing so much that I'd probably do it even if they paid nothing (which is the standard with most E-zine publishers).