Group Influence
It is often assumed that it is
impossible for an ordinary person to change the course of history. While it is
true to a measure, the example of Walt and Mildred Woodward shows that
consistent transformational leadership is capable of creating a lasting impact
on the lives of many people at once. The articles that appeared in Bainbridge
Review helped humanize the victims of Japanese Americans internment policy and
made their return home a positive experience. Moreover, instead of simply
writing on the topic of inhumane treatment of minorities, they used their
platform to give power back to the oppressed.
They hired a Japanese man Paul Ohtaki to write a column for them from a camp,
allowing the voices of the interred to be heard.
This real life example of courage in the
face of public disapproval and fearmongering on the part of politicians stands
in sharp contrast to the experience of other Japanese Americans who were
stripped of their civil rights during Second World War. It is often said that
darkness is the absence of light. Such lack of kindness and basic human empathy
is described in Julie Otsuka’s novel When the Emperor was Divine. While
the people of Bainbridge Island supported their friends and neighbors while
they were unfairly imprisoned, the family described in the book were fully
isolated, discriminated against, and even robbed. They had to return to a
desecrated home, and the mother struggled to find a job due to racial bias. The
sharp contrast between the experiences of most Japanese Americans and those who
were fortunate enough to live on Bainbridge Island truly shows what power
transformational leadership can have.
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