Civility

It is hard to be nice all the time. For me it is nearly impossible not to get angry and inarticulate when confronted by someone who is trying to nettle me. I don’t know how the two presidential candidates could face each other after what has been said these past few weeks. And we knew what one candidate was planning to do before and during the debate to pressure his opponent. Trump intended to – and actually did – raise up the Bill Clinton personal misdeeds and accusations as though they are Hillary’s problem. They were her problem to live with and learn to forgive. And she did. So she was the victor on the issue.

But Trump? Please. He is guilty as charged and has apologized for some of his actions against women. But Bill? He was pilloried in the press, the courts and in Congress. And found not guilty. Trump? No such workings yet from the justice system. But he has admitted his roles. And evidently in his mind this makes it all OK.

It doesn’t, of course, make it OK. But what is really not OK is trying to smear Hillary with Bill’s issues. This has had nothing to do with Hillary. If anything it demonstrates her staying power and willingness to deal with the hard issues of life in order to get past them constructively.

Bill was his own problem. That is in the past. His issues gave his marriage real challenges; but both Bill and Hillary lived through them and succeeded where so many others have given up on each other. Not the Clintons. They remained together and continued to work to improve the world not condemning it.

Trump? Not one policy, word or program that will address the issues facing America or the world community. Just cheap shots and innuendos. He is not a fully matured person in government or public policy.

And American cannot afford to train him on the job. We already know his trainability is sorely lacking.

So Trump speaks his mind. And that seems to be a refreshing quality among 40% of the electorate. But what happens once the mind has spoken? What actions and decisions are then made? What workings within the government’s constitutional system are then employed to fix things? Does Trump have those answers or knowledge? No. He doesn’t.

If the Congress isn’t with you they will make life impossible for you. Observe 8 years of Congressional misdeeds aimed at Obama. Case in point! No cooperation or collaboration extended toward the President in 8 years. They took an oath to frustrate the hell out of Obama. And yet his grace under pressure shone through and he succeeded to rebuild the economy and reduce the cost of medical care and increase hugely the number of people properly insured for healthcare. In spite of Congress. He still has made a major difference in many issues. And on the world stage he has had the largest role. The world community likes and respects Obama. They know him to be thoughtful and intelligent and studied. They know him to be a person who does not dump his ideas and solutions onto others. That is why Putin is able to carp endlessly and seemingly gets his way. He doesn’t. His nation is broke. And his public servants-employees are underpaid if paid at all. All he is left with is his swagger and rattling of military armaments. He has plenty of those while his people starve and dodge giant potholes in their streets. Putin is an emperor without clothes. All the more to model his physique I guess!

No, President Barack Obama has a class Putin never will have. And the world respects this. We don’t tell Russia how to live, nor do we enforce such opinions. Russia is left to its own devices to live and survive. If they misstep the world community will answer the call. This is the global community’s fight, not America’s. Always has been. The USA is not the policeman to the world. We are there for help when needed. But we are the not arbiter of all things.

The true colors of the Trumps, Putins and republicans of the world are on full display.

Thankfully there are millions of worthy people willing to do the work of the public in countless offices and buildings throughout the nation. People who run the schools, the police departments, the streets and sanitation departments, the penal systems, the water and sewer departments, and of course the courts and criminal justice system. Diplomats too report for work each day and do their thankless jobs for the good of us all. And city, county and most states have employees who faithfully discharge their duties.

But Congress and its ill-fated leadership in the hands of Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan and a host of other lesser republicans, are added to the frumpy likes of Trump and Putin. They all fail the civility test. They all fail their civics lessons learned decades ago. Or not!

America remains the nation of the people, for the people and by the people. Beware Frumps! Your days are nearly past.

October 14, 2016