Trump Times: The Promise in the Problem

I am not happy with our president. His lack of respect and the way that he incites hate, confusion, and mistruth daily is dangerous and disconcerting. He is very childish in his ways, and thinks that leading the United States of America is a Do It Yourself (DYI) project.

His ever-changing narrative about so many topics breeds mistrust, and the way he callously treats foreign partners and leaders around the world is worrisome.

Instead I hope for a new president in the near future who will demonstrate good character, discipline, collaboration, and outstanding leadership--we need the President of the United States to exemplify the best of who people can be and we need the President of the United States to defend and protect the American people and our United States Constitution.

It is questionable whether President Trump upholds the United States Constitution, the law of the land. There are many questions related to this--questions that lawmakers need to think about carefully, questions such as:

• When he repeatedly calls the media, the "fake news", and chooses some media outlets over others to praise or demean, is he securing our right to free press or is he confounding that right?
• When he does not support environmental protection or safe gun regulations, is he insuring "domestic Tranquility" and promoting the "general Welfare" of the people today and our posterity--generations to come?
• Did he knowingly work with a foreign adversary to undermine his opponent in the 2016 election? If he did, did he do that in exchange for money, in response to a bribe or blackmail, or in an effort to work with that foreign adversary to further his own wealth and interests over the interests and laws of the United States of America? The fact that many that he hired and appointed to work with and for him have been indicted on crimes of illegal behavior with foreign adversaries makes us wonder what his role was in all of this. Fortunately there is an investigation going on, and hopefully that investigation will bring forth the truth of the matter.
• When he appoints friends and benefactors to high level positions that they are not well skilled or experienced for, does he promote our "general welfare" or is he mostly just paying back those people for their donations to his campaign?

President Trump is not a president I hold in high respect or that I feel sets a good example for Americans today. His track record of relationship troubles, business dealings, derogatory speech, and seemingly self-serving decisions worries me when it comes to the leadership of our country and the freedoms we hold dear. I believe we can do better than to stay satisfied with a president like this.

Yet he's more powerful than many of us since he has money, ties with others with great power and wealth, and a following in Congress that has limited new laws and policies to move our country ahead to be a safer, more supportive, and strong country. No matter what power he has, we can do better as a people if we work together to make positive change and elect honest, disciplined, intelligent, collaborative individuals into office--the kinds of individuals who put country over self and who are dedicated to working with others to better who we are and what we do as a nation.

To simply make the rich richer, does not make our country strong. Yes, it's important to support businesses so the economy thrives, but it's even more important to support the people so that they have good educations, optimal health care, safe communities, fair regulations, clean water, clean air, clean soil, nutritious foods, natural lands for recreation and inspiration, forward moving innovation that makes life better for people, and positive global connections that help the whole world move forward particularly with issues of environmental protection, immigration, and opportunity for good living for all. 

So what can we do?

We need to contribute our time and talents in ways that we can.

We all have to prepare to vote, then vote. We can encourage our friends, family members, and community members to prepare to vote and vote too. 

We need to be informed. We have to make time to read the news and even better, read or watch the news from many sources to make our own decisions about what is accurate and what may not be accurate. 

We can join political action groups in our communities and work for change. 

We can run for office or support those people who we feel will lead us well to run for office. 

Trump has demonstrated to us what a poor leader can do to upset a country and bring us back rather than forward. His demeanor, disrespect, and disregard for most American people has been an anchor on our country's future innovation, peace, and prosperity. While we've seen some short term gains in some areas, his quick fix politics is just that--a quick fix, not a long lasting, deep, and transformative effort, the kind of effort that helps all children learn, provides quality health care to everyone, protects our environment, and supports long lasting, positive relationships at home and abroad. 

I don't have all the answers, but daily I feel disrespected and demeaned by the behavior of Donald Trump. The promise in this problem, however, is that it is waking us up and making us look deeply at who we are as a people and a country. The promise in this problem may be that more people than ever vote in fall elections and more people than ever get involved in our great country's future to truly make us a country by the people for the people. We can do better.