The Wall of Storms (The Dandelion Dynasty, #2)

by Ken Liu

True courage comes not from being certain and unafraid, but from doing what must be done even while being terrified and full of doubts.”

Judging by our politics, this doesn’t seem a popular view of courage in leadership. We seem to prefer our leaders to be utterly convinced of their announced course, to give no quarter to alternative points of view, to leave no room for new information, to never apologize or explain, to display the illusion of strength rather than strength of character, to just be the human version of a locomotive going at full steam down the rails. While I can cite multiple theories explaining why this kind of stay-the-course, doubt-free form of political posturing is actually good for aggregating voter preferences and healthy for democracy, I don’t agree with any of them. Doubt over the path one is on is essential to growth, to gaining wisdom, to becoming a better human being. I can’t really trust leaders who express no doubt whatsoever in what they proclaim—where doubt ends, tyranny begins.