I believe it is time for new leadership that is able to leave the

Hear the words of Kim Campbell, the first woman to serve as Prime Minister of Canada, who declared: “I believe it is time for new leadership that is able to leave the ’70s behind.” This utterance is not merely a call for political renewal, but a timeless reminder that leadership must always belong to its age. To cling to the past, to dwell in the shadows of what was, is to deny the rising light of what is and what must come. The world moves forward like a river, and the leader who refuses to leave the old shore behind will soon be swept away.

The ancients too knew this truth. When Moses led his people from Egypt, he could not carry them back to the comforts and chains of the past; he had to march them toward the promised land, though the wilderness was harsh and the future uncertain. For the leader is not the keeper of what has been, but the guide toward what might be. To remain trapped in the spirit of another age—whether the 1970s or any era—is to betray the very essence of leadership, which is to answer the needs of the present with vision for the future.

Consider the example of Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Great Depression. Had he clung to the methods of the 1920s, the United States would have drowned in despair. Instead, he forged the New Deal, creating paths no leader before him had walked. He understood, as Campbell reminds us, that leadership must break from the worn-out garments of past decades to clothe a nation in new strength. His ability to leave behind the old thinking and embrace innovation turned despair into resilience, and survival into renewal.

Yet many resist such change. There is comfort in the past, in the repetition of what is familiar. But the leader must rise above nostalgia. For the world of the ’70s was not the world of the ’90s, and it is not the world of today. Every age brings its own storms—technologies, conflicts, voices, and dreams—and only those who are willing to shed the skin of the past can hope to guide others through them. Thus, Campbell’s words are both warning and charge: leadership that clings to old ages will perish with them.

But let none think that leaving the past behind means scorning it. The wise leader honors history, learns its lessons, and treasures its victories—but does not become a prisoner to it. Just as the farmer reaps one harvest and then clears the field for planting anew, so must leaders honor what was sown in earlier times, while making room for fresh growth. To hold too tightly to yesterday is to strangle tomorrow.

The meaning of Campbell’s statement, then, is that leadership is not a museum but a compass. Leaders are not guardians of relics, but guides of living people. They must feel the pulse of the present and prepare the path for the future. To dwell endlessly in the ’70s—or any bygone era—is to walk backward into the future, blind to the needs of the people here and now.

The lesson is clear: in your own life, do not be chained to what is past. Honor it, yes, but dare to step beyond it. Ask yourself, “What old ways must I leave behind so that I may rise to meet today’s challenges?” Be willing to let go of outdated habits, outdated fears, outdated assumptions. Just as nations need leaders who can step out of yesterday, so too do individuals need the courage to shed what no longer serves them. For only by leaving the old shore can you reach the new horizon.