Tag Archives: HIllary Clinton

Thoughts on Trump

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During periods of fear and anxiety, candidates try to promise things they may not be able to deliver. The problem with demagogues is that you make promises that you can’t necessarily keep. But people want to believe it. Presidential Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin

 

The polls and pundits were wrong: Trump won the election. Clinton won the popular vote by more than two million votes and counting. Trump won the electoral college by winning Wisconsin by 0.8 percent; Michigan by 0.2 percent and Pennsylvania by 1.1 percent. Wisconsin will do a recount. Perhaps Michigan and Pennsylvania will too. With all the talk of rigged elections by Trump and rumors of Russian hacking to help Trump, I think recounts would be appropriate for the integrity of our election process. I do not expect the results to change.

I assess a presidential candidate first by character and then by talent, experience and policy positions. A person of character models goodness: caring, empathy and compassion for all of humanity. A person of character has a strong inner core: deep values and a purpose greater than himself. A visionary, he has a positive, hopeful, sustainable and forward-looking dream for the evolution of America and the planet. A president of character shows us wisdom, bravery, fairness, knowledge, emotional maturity and transcendence.

Character stands alone as the primary and essential requirement for presidential leadership. If the candidate lacks sufficient character then we have no need to even consider talent, experience and policy positions. No one has everything we’d like in a president but Trump lacks most everything. I could not imagine him as a presidential leader. And that was before I watched him on the campaign trail.

I found it painful to watch Donald Trump at debates and rallies. He projected so many things wrong with what it means to be a man today, or a decent human being in the 21st century or what should be expected of a president of the United States in a complex and interdependent world. Rejecting self-awareness, he projected his faults and dark motives onto others. He seemed to feel entitled to be petty and vindictive. Easily manipulated by praise, he therefore lacked personal freedom. He lied constantly to protect his false image. I experienced him as a hollow man—a man without a core. I felt repulsed by him and found him contemptible. I feared for democracy and for America.

Much of the media sold its journalistic soul for the money the Trump spectacle brought them. Trump lies 75% of the time. His followers didn’t care. We watched crazy in action and a serious election process became a reality TV show. Character mattered not at all or not much to those who followed him. The more despicable he was, the more they supported him. He made angry Americans feel heard and cared about. They rewarded him for making them feel good. They so wanted to believe in him. Will future historians write that America went crazy in 2016?

We must not normalize Trump despite the temptation to do so. If we think of him as “normal” we feel less anxious and afraid. Making him normal dumbs down what we expect of a man today, what we expect of a decent human being in a diverse world and what we expect of our president in a dangerous time.

We—our society and our culture—made Trump. He emerged from the understandable pain, fear and anxiety of a large segment of the rural white community many who feel their voices have been ignored and others who feel overwhelmed and left behind in a rapidly changing world. He also emerged from the fears some have of powerful women, people different from themselves and racists who saw a kindred soul in Trump. And he emerged from white people who feel, again understandable, deep anxiety about becoming a minority demographic group soon. A true demagogue, Trump falsely convinced many who want to believe that their problems will be solved by building walls, victimizing others and retreating from the world. I do not believe Trump will be the cure of the ills of America; I believe he will make them worse.

The majority of Americans see a different America. We walk into an unknown future darker and more dangerous than just weeks ago. We support those terrified of Trump World. We go forward with others guided by our life purpose, our values and a dream of a diverse and inclusive America and a planet sustainable for all people.

Think, Think, Think

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No problem can be solved [Or nation renewed] from the same level of consciousness that created it.

Einstein

 

Robert Greenleaf asked in Servant Leadership:

Who is the enemy? Who is holding back more rapid movement to the better society that is reasonable and possible with available resources? Who is responsible for the mediocre performance of so many of our institutions? Who is standing in the way of a larger consensus on the definition of the better society and paths to reaching it?

The good people who look the other way–not the evil, stupid and apathetic people who have so much power and influence today–are the enemy. The good people—at all socioeconomic levels–who have been lazy, asleep or afraid for a long time need to wake-up, courage-up and get energized and engaged with the future of their country.

They can begin by making a considered decision on their choice for the next President of the United States.

Progress has been made: Millions of people awakened this presidential election cycle as pent-up anger finally surfaced. Many millions more need to rouse themselves. Some on the left call for political revolution; some on the right call for a return to a romanticized past. Many are clueless.

For the newly awakened, now and in the months ahead, furious worship and hooting and hollering fall short of what is required. The roused have additional responsibilities: They must see the reality of America today through clear eyes so they can understand her needs—not just their wants and needs. Many suffer, I believe, fuzzy thinking. All of us must use discernment as we go deeper than our first emotional reactions to evaluate the candidates and their visions for America.

In Ethics For The New Millennium, The Dalai Lama wrote of wise discernment: “…involves constantly checking our outlook and asking ourselves whether we are being broad-minded or narrow-minded. Have we taken into account the overall situation or are we considering only specifics? Is our view short-term or long-term? Are we being short-sighted or clear-eyed, we need to think, think, think.”

Be aware of self-righteousness: “Be careful when you fight the monsters, lest you become one [Friedrich Nietzsche].” Observe those who demonize, scapegoat and marginalize others to justify bad behavior contrary to American values. We die for our values. If we cast them aside for personal gain, we are lost.

Political rallies are not rock concerts to thrill or entertain us, or manipulate us and energize our more sordid sides. Going to a rally and supporting a candidate because he or she made you feel good or is the hot topic trending on Twitter today is not thinking straight. Rallies are but one element of a long, exhaustive and rigorous process. Keep the twists and turns of the daily campaign grind in perspective. Not every big deal is a big deal.

We need to listen, observe and learn the positions of the candidates and how they differ with one another—it doesn’t take long. Then we need to “think, think, think” about the character, experience and temperament of each aspirant along with the practicality of their visions and the specificity of how they would make their aspirations for America real. We should check out our assumptions about candidates: are they based on fact, fiction or opinion? How do our values line up with those of the contenders?

On November 8, 2016, the United States will get the president and the future of America that the majority of voters deserve. Will the voters choose to move forward or backward?

If America ever needed divine intervention it might be now.