Zimbabwe: Making Our Leaders Idols Hurt Our Democracy

Truth is, some of us follow our leaders with such rabid loyalty that we fail to see their flaws or hold them accountable for their failures. Perhaps it’s a cultural impulse that implores us to follow blindly: we are so wired and conditioned to follow one man or woman, figurehead or mambo without question, that we become incapable of taking a step back and objectively judging them purely by the outcomes (or lack thereof) of their actions and leadership.

Zimbabwe has seen episodes of political ...