This whole idea that we need to “Make America Great Again” is troubling. Not that we do not have room to grow in greatness, we certainly do. No, it’s the way this slogan is being used that is disturbing to me. It is code for “we need to make America white again, Christian again, English speaking again”. The key issues of the Republican platform are no longer the staples of small government, strong military, lower taxes and a balanced budget. They have morphed into a nationalist cry against immigration, specifically the terrorist Muslims and the criminal Mexicans. Build a wall, keep us safe from what we do not like or understand, make us look like we used to. These are the ideas a great number of Trump’s supporters longed for and that propelled his candidacy since the beginning. This sentiment rallies many who are uncomfortable with people not like themselves and are worried about the changes in the world around them. Change is scary. It is natural to resist the unknown and to cling to the familiar. Fear is the root emotion of anger, and no one can deny the anger that boils in Trump and his followers. He is a classic bully -- name calling, insulting, loud, and brash. For some, this is a quality they admire claiming that he says what all Americans want to but most of our Mothers taught us not to. For others like myself, this quality is the manifestation of everything that is not great in our country.
Fortunately, he is not saying what all Americans want to. In fact, he is extremely unpopular even within his own party. He has splintered the party and left disparate groups unsure of how to coalesce for the future. Most agree the party is forever changed if not destroyed, and it remains to be seen if this upheaval may bring any good in the long run to a party that has struggled to resonate with a more diverse, modern and increasingly secular population. Lines are drawn between principled conservatives who refuse to support his brand of politics and behavior like respected conservative writer George Will or former presidents Bush. Loyal Republicans that want policy change that aligns to the true party platform but are desperate to win at all costs like Paul Ryan hold their noses to support the nominee and cross their fingers that he will work with them if he wins. The Tea Party and right wing are thrilled of course to have a leader who speaks to their issues including more guns, anti-abortion, anti-gay rights, and to stop the foreigners who are stealing our jobs and ruining our country. So many simply believe the rhetoric that America is in awful shape, Hillary is a criminal, and liberal politics are wrong or just plain evil. They buy it when he says, “I alone can fix it”.
I am unclear where the greatness is here. I think we have had many moments of greatness in this country. When we come together in crisis to care for each other and work together for solutions. When we provide military or humanitarian aid to other countries in turmoil. When we lead the world by our model of personal freedom, diversity and inclusion. We have shown our greatness through innovation and excellence in everything from sports to science, and built our country on promises of equality and success through hard work. I think we were pretty great when we elected Barack Obama as the first African American president on his message of hope and peace. The whole world celebrated with us this beautiful symbol that our dark history of racism had evolved to this incredible milestone. You could physically feel the positive vibe in the air for months after the election. But what we are currently experiencing is a backlash to this historical event. Trump took center stage after Obama was elected, spreading lies about his background and accusing him of not even being an American, an idea baseless in fact. No other president in history has been accused of not being a citizen, no other forced to show a birth certificate. But even when he did so that did not stop the spread of lies meant to discredit him. Trump in recent months finally admitted that our president is a natural born American citizen. He did this for his own gain of course to tamp down some of his craziest ideas, but added in his statement that it was Hillary who started the whole thing anyway, which of course is untrue and so easily fact checked it bears no more mention here. The ugly truth is that there were (and are) many people who were not ready for a black president, many not comfortable with his foreign sounding name and Muslim father. His message and policy to be more inclusive and accepting of others threatened some who hold traditional and even isolationist ideals. Freedom to worship and marry who you see fit, a women’s right to chose does not sit well with some whose personal beliefs are strong and unyielding. His reluctance to categorize all Islam as evil and perpetuate the idea that a battle between good and evil exists between all Muslims and Christians. Some of his ideas are too open-minded for many, how radical to want to move toward understanding, tolerance and acceptance. It seems to me this is the evolution we are most in need of to be a great people and a great nation. To find acceptance on a personal level is the surest path to peace and happiness, but to do it on a national level would be nothing short of miraculous. Recent events show that we are clearly not ready for that kind of greatness.
This slogan emblazoned on The Donald’s baseball cap is insulting in itself because what it stands for is all the things that make us not so great. The tendency to bully those who are weaker or different, the hot-headed rush to violence to settle disputes, the reality TV culture that makes up its own reality, the worship of wealth and materialism as a new family value, the entitlement of the elite, the fascination with celebrity, the blaming of others for all of our woes. It is deeply troubling to me to witness so many people support this ugliness. I have devoured information from many sources to examine what is happening. I have read and listened to sources from multiple perspectives, conservative, liberal, spiritual, non-partisan, philosophical and psychological. Human behavior has always fascinated me and as infuriating as all this can be I cannot learn enough. I understood who Donald Trump was and what he stood for long ago, and like many, was shocked to see him come this far. I was disturbed by how many see this but overlook or excuse his problems, or even worse, share his thinking. It troubles me so deeply to have a man so volatile and so completely unqualified this close to the presidency. Moreover, the voice he has given to fear and hatred is beginning to both legitimize it and empower it. At the same time it makes us all more callous and even tolerant of it. There are many complex reasons for all this: Erosion of the culture that accepts bad behavior and language that would never have been tolerated less than a generation ago. The information age, that I would argue should be renamed the misinformation age, a constant barrage of multi-media that allows any statement to become fact and the utter acceptance by so many of it as truth despite plentiful evidence to the contrary. The “breaking” news coverage of his outlandish campaign has created his popularity, programming of “news” shows that do little reporting and thrive on controversy and shock value to drive ratings. The 24/7 political coverage, a cover in itself of the issues that really face our nation, a convenient distraction to what really needs our attention. Finally, a climate that is more politically contentious and partisan than ever, in a country increasingly polarized to chose sides and toe the party line no matter the cost. There is little intellectual or even polite discourse to be found. Politics has become identity based and emotionally charged with neither the candidates nor most of the populace able to discuss ideas to find commonality or respectfully disagree.
Republicans publicly vowed not to work with Obama when he came into office, and mostly they have not. This is not how it is meant to be and is not a service to our country. The two party system was brilliantly designed to provide balance between opposing views to find solid middle ground. That requires respect and the keen interest of the people employed by us to work together for the greater good. But our elected officials do not represent the majority or work for the people when they ignore or reject our choices. Increasingly neither party hears nor heeds the voices of their constituents leaving both sides of the aisle mired in the muck of scandal. Our government is crippled because it is no longer focused on solving problems for the good of the nation but in drawing lines in the sand and refusing to compromise. Self interest and power is the motivation and goal. This is what infuriates us. We are so weary of this three-ring circus we want something, someone, anyone to make it stop. For some that fury fuels their hope that a loud mouth, wild card, outsider could make a difference. Sadly the difference may be dangerous.
I have always been invested and interested in politics. I was introduced at a young age by my Father. I grew up outside of Washington DC, the daughter of a WWII vet, EEOC lawyer and lifelong civil servant. I spent most of my life as a conservative Republican woman, even a ditto head for a while, though I hate to admit it. The party aligned with my strong Christian values and support of the military, but I slowly became more moderate, and on some issues even liberal. I found myself becoming more open minded, accepting and compassionate. My black and white view of some issues softened to shades of gray as I matured and found my own insights and self-acceptance. I learned from my work both literally peering inside people’s bodies in diagnostic healthcare and through my clients sharing their hearts with me in my professional coaching practice that we are all the same and have far more in common than it may seem on the surface. I have been fortunate to form friendships with people of all the major religions and from most ethnicities and backgrounds so I know first hand that our hopes and dreams as well as our insecurities and fears are universal. At the same time I was expanding my views my party became more extreme and unyielding, attaching to particular issues like gun rights and choice with a vengeance that went beyond reason and logic.
Some people do not understand my passion, my one-woman show downs, articles and Facebook battles, undoubtably I offend and alienate many. But at the core of my being fr as long as I remember I know that if one does not stand for what is right they are part of what is wrong. Furthermore, as a student of life and history I know that bad leaders do not come to power simply through the support of people who agree with them but by the inaction of those who do not. I believe that if we allow Trump to win the presidency we send a message to our country and the world that behavior, courtesy, truth, intelligence, experience does not matter and our election process will be forever changed if it already has not.
I believe that what we say and how we act matters. I believe that civility, consideration, compassion and kindness are basic traits we should teach our children, seek out in our friendships and demand from our leaders. I believe that we create an environment that is toxic and incendiary when we disregard these characteristics that set us apart from other mammals.
Like most people I am troubled not only by the candidacy of Donald Trump but by Hillary Clinton as well. I have never been a fan of hers, and frankly she has always largely been disliked for legitimate as well as trumped up reasons. I did not vote for her husband because of the clear evidence of inappropriate behavior before he was elected. Character counts. I did not care that he was smart and a charismatic leader. I did care about the intern, barely an adult, who he took advantage of and lied brazenly about. I remember during those times being in the minority, people teased me for being so old fashioned and out of touch.
In truth, I still do not like Hillary Clinton. I had to open my mind and learn more about her to gain more confidence in her ability. Despite the Herculean efforts of the right and the media to discredit her, she is still a far more sensible choice, experienced, level-headed, intelligent. We simply cannot risk a wild card in our complex world who admittedly has little to no knowledge or real understanding of law, policy or the diverse population this country includes. I wish like most of us there was another choice, that we could go back and have a do-over, but we cannot. On the other hand, to not participate in the election by making the most responsible choice would be disrespectful of all those that fought for my right to vote throughout history and those that fight today to preserve it.
How can we Make America Great without great choices for leaders? With politics so nasty and adversarial, what great leader will emerge to be viciously attacked in the future? We have many complex issues here and around the world that need attention and leadership. Maybe the most troubling part of the current atmosphere is that we are not discussing what really matters. We are not seeking solutions. We are allowing our focus to be skewed and our hearts hardened by immature antics, misinformation and letting a wedge be driven between us. Ultimately, it is up to us to make America great again, but first we must look at what greatness is and how we can foster it in ourselves, our families and our communities. It is up to us to hold our leaders accountable and in check, something we have not done for a long time. We have become complacent albeit resentful of corrupt and ineffective politicians but often continue to vote for them resigned to the notion that’s just the way it is. We have created this environment and the culture that these two candidates represent. In a government for the people and by the people it is the people themselves who are called to greatness. Now more than ever we all must choose to heed that call.
