“I like him. He’s an outsider.”
As I sit listening to the talking heads review the primary
results from today’s voting in the Northeast, I am mired in disbelief. Donald
Trump’s sweep of these states boggles my mind and deeply troubles my spirit.
Even more troubling than this candidate's posture, rhetoric
and viewpoints is the support of the American public. The fact that intelligent
folks across the demographic spectrum can endorse a person who demonstrates
such ineptitude and speaks so harshly about other human beings makes me want to
cry. Literally.
When I’ve listened to the comments of his supporters, I am
struck by one thing I hear over and over: the love of Trump because he is an
outsider to politics. Let us think about this using a comparison.
Say you are having a heart attack and need open-heart
surgery. Do family members say, “hey, a cardiac surgeon is just part of the
system. Sure, she’s graduated top of her class from medical school. He’s had
years of experience in this large research hospital and before that, at a
highly rated regional hospital. But I’m thinking an outsider, perhaps someone
trained in architecture or landscaping might be a better person for the job.
She won’t have all that hospital insider language. He’ll just cut me open and
do the job. She’ll make me great again!”
Why does this argument not hold sway when it comes to the
discipline of politics? Is it because our schools have put so much focus on
STEM that children are growing up (and will continue to do so) not having a significant understanding of politics, history and law? Why do we not realize that politics is a skill, an area of study, a
respectable way to work for the common good? You are working not to replace a
heart, but to understand the heart of the American electorate. We are not
electing a showman or an entrepreneur but a president, and this takes
particular skills. It takes more than saying over and over how great you are
and how great you’ll make things.
Months ago, my family got a few laughs from a video montage
of Donald Trump saying “China” over and over again. I am now ashamed I laughed
as hard as I did. He is not funny. He is downright scary. His rhetoric makes me
sick. But what saddens me even more is the direction I fear many in our country
are headed, a direction where we no longer value the skills needed to govern,
compromise and carry on basic relationships between people and nations.
We tell our children not to bully and yet throngs of people
adore a bully, very likely in front of their own children. There must be a
better way. I hope that conservatives and liberals alike come to see that we
must do better for the sake of our country, our children and our world.
