Is President Trump Demonstrating Fidelity to the Oath of Office?

No American has the monopoly on truth. No American has all the answers. No American is without strengths or flaws. All of us are human, and it is in our best interests to move ourselves, our loved ones, our neighbors, and our country ahead in ways that elevate the lives of all. This is what makes a strong, successful, just country.

History shows us what self-centered, narrow-minded, do-it-yourself leaders do to the livelihood, potential, beauty, and promise people hold for good government, good laws, and a healthy planet. History demonstrates that destructive leaders divide, incite hate, take apart good systems, promote prejudice, and stand in the way of the life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness possible.

As we think about what makes a good leader versus a bad leader, we need to think about what we expect from our leaders.

The United States Constitution clearly defines what elected leaders are obligated to do. In the preamble, we get the big picture of who and what a president, lawmakers, and judges should be and do. They are there to do the following for ourselves and our posterity:

• Insure domestic tranquility
• Provide for the common defense
• Promote the general welfare
• Secure the blessings of liberty

So as we evaluate our leaders, we can analyze their words and acts to find out if they are working for the best interests of people today and generations to come because that is their job according to the United States Constitution.

So when President Trump singles out individuals in harsh ways with name calling, mistruths, exaggeration, and contempt, we can ask: Do your words support tranquility and the general welfare of the citizens of the United States?

When laws are made, we can again analyze those laws to see if those laws do support the general welfare of United States citizens?

When environmental controls are eliminated or reduced, we can challenge that by asking if that action truly leads for our posterity: generations to come, or if acts like that actually diminish the promise and potential for our lives today and our children's and grandchildren's lives tomorrow?

When the free press is demeaned, we can challenge by asking why leaders are not securing the blessing of liberty, but instead decrying those rights.

We can wonder why leaders today like President Trump refuse to put the general welfare ahead of literal analysis with regard to gun rights, analysis that allows the free reign of guns whether a person can responsibly and knowledgeably use those guns or not. 

The United States Constitution is a powerful, yet simple, document that clearly outlines our expectations for our government leaders, and it is a document we need to understand well and return to time and again to assess whether our elected leaders are staying faithful to their oaths to follow the law of the land. 

Is President Trump demonstrating fidelity to the oath of office to abide by the laws of the United States Constitution? That is a question that many today are discussing, investigating, and debating. I am thinking deeply about this. What do you think?