Journalists are all atwitter this week after Secretary of State Rex Tillerson revealed he did not want his current job.
“I didn’t want this job. I didn’t seek this job,” he said in an interview with IJR’s Erin McPike.
He added later in response to a second question about why he accepted the role, “My wife told me I’m supposed to do this.”
When President Trump offered the former Exxon Mobil CEO the spot, Tillerson told his wife, who reportedly responded with, “I told you God’s not through with you.”
“I was supposed to retire in March, this month. I was going to go to the ranch to be with my grandkids,” Tillerson told McPike.
Nevertheless, he said, he doesn’t regret taking on the role. McPike reported Tillerson sees an opportunity to improve on the State Department and, most importantly, serve his country.
“My wife convinced me. She was right. I’m supposed to do this,” he said.
It’s a good story, and one that harkens back to the lessons we read in class about great historical figures who chose reluctantly to accept the awesome responsibility to lead.
However, not everyone saw it this way. Many in media appeared dismayed by Tillerson’s surprise admission.
“Thanks for telling us now,” said Fortune magazine’s Rachel King.
The Huffington Post’s Sara Bondioli added, “Well, I’m speechless.”
“Stunning,” said NY Daily News contributor Brandon Friedman.
CBS News’ Major Garrett added separately, “I didn’t want this job.” What every Secretary of State says. Oh…wait.”
“Will be fascinating to watch Secretary Tillerson… an oil-executive, who’s admitted her didn’t want this job,” said Al-Jazeera English’s Kamahl Santamaria‏.
Jake Bernstein of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists quipped, “Truly embarrassing for a great nation.”
It’s like these people have never even heard of Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, St. Gregory the Great or even George Washington.
There was a time not too long ago when men were praised for preferring home and family to power and control. History is filled with leaders who either turned down power or were reluctant to accept it because they knew it was a great and awesome responsibility.
These are the good guys, by the way.
Cincinnatus, for example, hesitated when he was asked to leave his farm and family to defend Rome. He was offered the role of dictator, which gave him total control over the empire and army for a period of at least six months. He accepted, but only after careful consideration. He led the troops, saved Rome and then surrendered his power immediately after he accomplished what was asked of him.
“Cincinnatus might then have made himself king; for his word was law, and no man dared lift a finger against him. But, before the people could thank him enough for what he had done, he gave back the power to the white-haired Roman Fathers and went again to his little farm and his plow,” James Baldwin wrote in his 1896 book, “Fifty Famous Stories Retold.”
“He had been the ruler of Rome for sixteen days,” he added.
Pope Gregory I, also known as St. Gregory the Great, was similarly leery of power and authority when it came his way.
“The choice of a successor lay with the clergy and people of Rome, and without any hesitation, they elected Gregory, Abbot of St. Andrew’s. In spite of their unanimity, Gregory shrank from the dignity thus offered him. He knew, no doubt, that its acceptance meant a final good-bye to the cloister life he loved, and so he not only refused to accede to the prayers of his fellow citizens but also wrote personally to the Emperor Maurice, begging him with all earnestness not to confirm the election,” the Catholic Encyclopedia recounts.
“Germanus, prefect of the city, suppressed this letter, however, and sent instead of it the formal schedule of the election,” it added.
Certain versions of St. Gregory the Great’s life claim he found the prospect of becoming the new pope so intimidating that he fled and hid, and search parties had to be sent out for him.
“In 590, Pope Pelagius II died, and Gregory was proclaimed pope by acclamation. This was not something Gregory wanted, but he accepted the burden nevertheless,” Catholic Online accounts.
Gregory would go on to be remembered as one of history’s greatest popes and European leaders.
Then there’s George Washington, who is often referred to as the American Cincinnatus on account of the fact that he, too, chose his family and personal life over the chance to take power.
To hear Tillerson admit he was reluctant to become secretary of state is actually sort of refreshing, especially as the nation’s capital is already filled with power-hungry opportunists. People who spend years fighting and angling for plum government jobs are generally not the best public servants.
This isn’t to say Tillerson is the next Cincinnatus or St. Gregory the Great. Rather, it’s to remind people that there’s nothing wrong or “embarrassing” in a private citizen hesitating to accept a powerful leadership position.
In the age of Trump, and as the federal government continues to grow in size and power, our leaders giving careful consideration to their responsibilities is probably the last thing we want to criticize.
