Trump's angry, disrespectful tweets, rants, and speeches point out the self-serving, unkind, discrimination he feels, understands, and forwards as President of the United States. Rarely do his words demonstrate inclusion, equity, care, compassion, and a will to work for, and with, the people for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It seems that Trump's life has been a life focused on gaming the system, skirting the laws, and advantaging himself in self-gratifying ways related to money, power, relationships, recreation, and ego.
Some of us may see Trump as a broken child who learned to get attention by honing these self-serving ways--a child whose tantrums are a cry for help, evidence of a lack of a real education, and a friendless man who uses his money and power to continually try to convince himself that he has value. Others may see him as soul-less as he demeans the most challenged amongst us time and again while pandering to, and praising, world dictators who are known for their grave human rights violations.
Still, some may have been enamored by his tough-guy, reality television persona, an example of macho leadership that puts him in charge of getting rid of the bad guy--a sort of wild west persona that brings comfort to people who believe that only some of us can survive in this world and people who desire a return to the comfort of good old days that seem less complicated and confusing. To some, it's easier to stay mired in old time discriminatory think/practice than to look around and embrace the new world we live in--a world of increasing international interdependence, a world of tremendous diversity, a world where ideas move quickly, a world of unfathomable technological invention/change, and a world where truthful and untruthful information are coming at us from multiple directions every minute of the day.
Like many, I believe Trump's upbringing, psychological profile, narrow life experiences, little will to read, research, collaborate, create, and seeming discriminatory mindset makes him a poor and dangerous President for the United States. He's a trickster who is mired in a pattern of behavior that has him scheming to increase his personal power, wealth, and ego at all times. He appears to make little time for the hard work of true leadership--work that requires that you read, research, work with others, choose the best and brightest, and truly believe in and support the hard work, ideas, and potential a diverse nation holds for betterment. Yet, as I speak so harshly about Trump, I am always aware that none of us have all the answers; none of us are perfect, and we all have room for growth.
Trump's example shows us who not to be and what not to do--his disrespectful, sensational, and often untrue speak show us how this kind of speak tears at credibility, support, and good work. His undisciplined efforts that continually waffle from one idea to another demonstrate the wasted time/energy that poor focus and lack of discipline bring to our work. His short-term debt-filled decision making illustrate that we need to be wise about how we spend our money and that we can't use money to create great personal debt--debt that imprisons us with long term struggle. Trump's use of nepotism and cronyism depict how working only with good friends and family members damages our ability to see in wider, more inclusive ways--ways that help us to grow as individuals, good leaders, and worthy contributors. His choice to hire, work with, and fraternize with criminals and crooks demonstrate that the company we keep matters--when we open our doors to people who cheat, harm, and hurt others, we disable our ability to live well without fear of retribution, violence, and harm for ourselves and our family members. Trump's lethargy, lack of discipline, and greed is his calling card, a card that demonstrates his me-first politics and conniving, troubling, and harmful leadership, an example of whom not to be.
We have to speak up in response to Trump's manipulative ways--ways that take our country down, and ways that seek to underserve rather than serve the majority of good people here in the United States and abroad. He's the president who cries wolf--an untrustworthy president mired in his own narrow vision, limited experience, and self-serving ways. His lack of vision, inability to successfully collaborate, and refusal to stay faithful to his oath of office clearly demonstrates a life path to avoid, a path that wastes our individual and collective time, energy, and money--we can do better.
