The
confusion emanates from a brand of governing that is uncommon to our nation as
a whole, and to our people as individuals.
In spite of all that mothers in general try to teach and display in
their mothering and in their living, there is a demonic spirit on display that
somehow has managed to grab onto power in all parts of our governmental
systems, and to place in jeopardy all that we have learned, generally speaking,
from our mothers (and fathers as well).
If your
mother is anything like my mother – God rest her soul – you probably learned,
or were given, some of the following attributes and axioms:
·
A
sense of right and wrong
·
But,
no matter how wrong you might have been at times, she still loved you and
cherished you just because you were her child
·
A
sense of responsibility: of caring about yourself, your family, your neighbors,
your school, your teachers, your friends, your community; yes, and even about
your world.
·
And
along with that sense of responsibility came a sense of accountability – that
it mattered how you behaved, how you talked, how you interacted with others; it
mattered enough that if you failed to measure up, there could be a punishment
or penalty or confession, or a personal apology or some sort of recompense that
somehow was meant to set you on a proper course again. In some circles, that accountability was
expressed as penance or atonement or perhaps as punishment.
Turns out, it was more
like character-building – an inner sense and understanding that you, as an
individual, had a responsibility to conduct yourself in a manner that came from
within, that showed what kind of person you were, and what mattered in the
scheme of things. It came down to
accepting responsibility for your beliefs and your actions, as well as being
willing to somehow make amends when you did not measure up to your ideals or to
the standards or norms of the various communities within which you functioned.
·
Oh,
of course, sometimes Mom threw in a little bit of “guilt-sense” as well, and
used that to help you understand that “feeling guilty” for something said or
done is not always a bad approach. It
can be a means of building character (but, used too often, can also erode one’s
sense of self-worth, so Moms try to set a balance)
· I suspect, in general, that Moms are the quintessential source for gaining that
sense of self-worth. They tell us how
great we are, how well we did, how proud they are, how touched they were by our
thoughts, our gifts, our actions, our talents – you name it – Moms generally
have a way of expressing that one thing that all sons and daughters need: that
sense of knowing that you make a difference; that you are important to
somebody; that you are unique in some way that matters to someone; that you can
accomplish things that you didn’t know you could; that you have something about
you that can contribute to others; that you are special.
I weep for those who
did not gain this from either parent or from a significant parental figure because
of unusual circumstances. And, although
this won’t sit well with those who belittle the mutual responsibility we have
toward the welfare of others, I can’t help but believe that one of the duties
of society – of government and of private sector enterprise – is the
oft-neglected mentoring of the young, the provision of new opportunities for
developing a sense of self-worth and engagement in community-building and
service that leads to a sense of responsibility and accomplishment.
·
And finally, there is that ingredient that
cannot be overlooked or down-played.
Moms simply try to love you no matter what. That is their greatest gift, of course. Not only does it appear to be a gift they
possess, but it is a gift that they give to their children in every way they
possibly can. Some have failed to do so;
we cannot expect perfection. But most
mothers simply lavish love upon their children and grandchildren, and that is
why we celebrate Mother’s Day.
So where
does this sense of confusion come from that I mentioned at the beginning? It comes very simply from a loss of some of these values that mothers possess and demonstrate.
It comes from a new brand of governing that excludes some of our most cherished norms and standards.
It comes from a cohort of voters who seem to believe that it is all right to turn our ideals upside down so that we say one thing but do another.
It comes from a philosophy and belief system built not upon responsibility, accountability and opportunity, but upon a principle of might-makes-right; along with separation from certain people defined as inferior or maladjusted.
It comes from a belief that being great or being first or being the winner means denigrating others. It comes from a sense that one cannot trust the words or statements of leaders whom we have elected or appointed to important offices of government or of large corporations.
The confusion comes when debate and discussion and research; analysis and targeted problem-solving are all abandoned in favor of distorted opinions, lies, made-up problems, and the orders of one-man-in-charge.
In such a situation, confusion is inevitable and chaos reigns.
As of this moment, we have moved to another level of confusion and chaos, for we have moved to a level where the leader (Fuhrer?) has begun to tear down the very fabric of our government. We must understand that when a president begins to obstruct the lawful mechanisms of governing is when the entire structure begins to be eroded. The firing of James Comey as Director of the FBI, based, not on cause, but on the leader’s opinion that Comey was “not doing a good job.” This marks the turning of political disagreement into illegal activity that reminds one clearly of the Nixon era when the same-type obstruction occurred. Our representatives in Congress acted then as they should have. The current representatives, in the Republican Party at least, are hiding from their responsibilities, and attempting to let such actions “blow over” just long enough so they can gain re-election. They are themselves tearing at the fabric of our checks and balances system of governing by their neglect of the constitutional responsibility of their co-equal branch of government.
Confusion is
too weak a word in this circumstance. We
are besieged by a lack of character, of courage and of accountability. We are in danger of ignoring the threat to
our democratic ideals. We are too
accommodating and we are too kind-hearted, and we too often lean toward waiting
to see what will happen, hoping that everything is going to work out well. But in the case of lethal attacks upon our
way of governing and upon our truths, ideals, principles and virtues, we cannot
wait for an outcome that will never occur.
We cannot take the chance that too many countries have taken by ignoring
and under-estimating those who intend to “deconstruct” or to destroy what has
been built by forbearers and folk heroes and ordinary citizens.
We must hold
office-holders accountable for their misdeeds and their misbehaviors and even
their misspoken words. Moms know what
psychiatrists have studied and absorbed:
that malfeasance must be acknowledged, pointed out and penalized as close
to the wrong-doing as is possible.
Otherwise, the importance of accountability for wrongdoing is
diminished. So far, Mr. Trump has been
given too many passes and allowed too many excuses for his behavior. It is time to stop the charade and to let
everyone know that this emperor has no clothes.
Using
government for one’s own profit is not appropriate, so let us continually
remind all who will listen that Trump has inappropriately allowed his daughter
and son-in-law to use his picture and his office to enhance profitability; to
attend political and/or governmental meetings at which his daughter had no
other business than the family business with the foreign dignitaries present. And then there is Trump Towers as well as
many more Trump properties. They are
monetarily cleaning up with payments for accommodations, meetings, conferences,
gatherings and meet and greets for all manner of people with connections to
other governments, or to national enterprises that can be either exploitive or
exploited for financial gain.
But, all that
may pale in comparison to the debacle of recent days, as the leader has not
missed a chance to be impetuous, imbecilic, impulsive, bumbling, caught in
untruths, and making up items (tapes of Comey) that probably do not exist. However, should a Nixon-style taping system
exist in the Oval Office, there must be repercussions of major proportions.
Moreover,
the optics of a leader of this country meeting in the Oval Office with two apparatchiks
of Russia (and recently accused of sharing highly classified information with them) while excluding American journalists from the meeting; instead, allowing TASS to
publish the story of the meeting - amounts to a picture that cannot be endured. All of this while most likely under investigation
for improper connections to the Russian leader and Russian oligarchs and to their
hacking and interference with our 2016 elections. And that’s not all – here is the former
candidate who belittled, attacked and denigrated Hillary Clinton for possible
exposure of classified information in her emails on a private server, whom he
called a criminal who should be locked up.
If Trump is shown to have given highly classified information to the
Russians while meeting with them in the Oval Office, he has gone beyond misbehavior
to traitor. Time to deliver a suitable
recompense for this entirely unacceptable behavior. Talk about high crimes and misdemeanors – if he
keeps it up, the list of impeachable offenses will go on for pages!
It is past time for an independent investigator/prosecutor
to take charge of this whole Trump debacle!
