As I sip my caffeine this morning, I am thinking about 2016. I remember listening to some of my friends and colleagues talking about Cheeto’s candidacy for president. The often-asked questions were, “why not give him a chance? What have you got to lose? Maybe a non-politician will be good for the country.” I think after four years the answer is staring at me in all its ugly glory.
After almost four years I can come up with a litany of reasons why the businessman theory didn’t work out – it includes tax reform favoring the rich, unprecedented divisiveness, a horribly mismanaged health crisis, daily lies and misstatements, juvenile tweets every night, disrespect for the military and military service, incompetent appointments from top to bottom, and on and one. However, there is one overarching thought that keeps playing in my head. I think what we “lost” as a country is our sense of hope. My optimism about the future and a belief in what we can achieve has been replaced by a nightly ‘tweet storm’ of negative and mean-spirited name calling and denigration of everything that suggests empathy or humanity. Political rallies are not a vehicle for painting a plan for what H.W. Bush described as a “thousand points of light in a broad and peaceful sky,” but another opportunity to threaten and belittle the opposition which, by the way, is anything and everyone who disagrees with whatever is the issue du jour.
I would like to think that as a country we have developed, maybe evolved, with a ‘can do’ attitude that talks to a better tomorrow. This attitude speaks to the issues of the day with hope realistically realizing that we are not yet there but with hard work and the right attitude, we can get there. Whether we are addressing the caring stewardship of our country and the environment for future generations, a civility in our relationships with fellow citizens, compassion for those less fortunate than ourselves, respect for those who serve(d) the country and community, fairness and honesty in our business and personal dealings, value and respect for differences in gender/ethnicity/religious/sexual preferences, accessible health care, and a willingness to work together for the benefit of our society, a positive vision was the underlying theme. I see most of these aspiration under attack now. I am not sure if and when we can regain out footing again for once the genie is out of the bottle, it is hard to recapture it. Attitude, positive or negative, is very contagious. I do know that, for me, these aspirations are worth fighting for, and it is high time to regroup and put a plan together to recapture the optimism that made this country a beacon of hope that defined us for the first 300+ years.
Instead of dismantling or tearing down what is/was in place, we need to build upon what is in place to make it better, representing all of us, not just those with money and means. Specifically, that means fighting for environmental issues that includes acknowledging and mitigating the effects of climate change; addressing our policies on immigrants and acknowledging that its diversity is what contributed to making this country great; level the economic playing field so the system is not stacked in favor of those with the most money; eliminate systemic bias in the treatment of those who are different from the majority; reform financial and tax laws than favor those who can afford the best lobbyists; ensure that government and corporate policies are secular and fair for everybody; access to affordable health care is a fundamental of any caring society; and above all, cease dividing us by color, region, education and a myriad of other categories that emphasize difference rather than our human bond. It is a tall order, but we must think differently to make this country prosper and regain our hope. To paraphrase MLK, Jr., “We may have arrived at this point in different ships, but we are all in the same boat now.” Frankly, I’m fed up with the attack mentality and want to invest into some optimism based on a humanity which seems to be the missing ingredient in the current administration. If I sound like Mary Poppins this morning, so be it, because maybe we need more spoons of sugar and fewer tweets.
On this uplifting note, I am having another cup of joe with a fresh bagel.