Our Perplexing President

President Trump has not yet made the transition from Real Estate mogul to a political world leader. And it’s not certain he will ever be able to do that. A man his age is usually settled into the person he is from here on out and it’s all but impossible to make drastic changes. And drastic changes are needed.

The world of high-end real estate, huge commercial building construction, casinos, hotels, and whatever other kinds of structures Mr. Trump can add his name to, is a far cry from the arena of world politics.

There are at odd times glimpses that president Trump might actually have serious thoughts about how people should be treated and helped. But those get lost in his notoriously checkered history and in his perplexing persona. In the cut-throat universe of gigantic real estate projects, Mr. Trump established himself as a player. The massive buildings with his name emblazoned on them have successfully hidden the many failed and, as many have suggested, corrupt business deals, he has walked away from or has pulled off.

But you can’t run a nation on shady tactics and underhanded practices. You can fill your business with unprincipled colleagues and shameless shysters and call yourself a huge success, but you can’t get away with that as president of the United States. Eventually, the sloppiness and the deception and the dirty-dealing rises to the top of the gruel you're boiling and spills out into the open.

People are not so blind or stupid as to not see the mess in front of them. And sooner or later someone must clean it up.

That will fall to the voters.

In the meantime, we Americans have to be honest about where we are in this country. Yes, the stock market has gone through the ceiling with a few recent hiccups here and there. And yes, big business is bringing in mountains of cash. And of course, the wealthiest among us are floating in a sea of endless shimmering capital.

And while that little parade is going on our infrastructure crumbles, the poor are mercilessly forgotten, the middle class has disappeared in a cloud of debt, hard-working immigrants are belittled and rounded up and hauled off, cruelly separating established families. Vital government positions are left vacant while others are filled with nefarious oddballs who have had to resign in disgrace.

While president Trump reportedly sleeps in, plays golf, and refuses to read important documents to keep him well informed, the country crawls along a dark tunnel trying to find its way to an opening and light and the promise of being free from this dread we’re in.

The Florida massacre of helpless students seemed to actually move the president. He has disagreed with some of his Republican cohorts over his openness to raising the age limit on gun purchases and even banning gun bump stocks. But, that momentary flicker of conscience may be all but extinguished after facing so much pushback from Congressional Republicans. He says he will use an executive order to get it done, but there are legal issues with that. We’ll see if he retreats back to his old skills of preserving what he sees as his popularity and his power, even at the cost of what may or may not be his conscience. When he lets leak out some glimmer of decency and doing what his heart may be telling him, it too often goes black and disappears in his fear of not being the most talked about man in the country. Which seems to be what matters most to our president.

Novelist Frank Herbert has written, “I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”

That’s a profound exercise that, if ever taken on, might very well transform our perplexing president, and all of us.

We are Made for Human Connection

There are words from Brandi Carlile’s song, “The Story,” that I might sing, and perhaps you, too. “All of these lines across my face Tell you the story of who I am So many stories of where I've been And how I got to where I am But these stories don't mean anything When you've got no one to tell them to” You don’t have to be single or alone to feel the depth of those words. Someone in a longtime marriage or relationship might feel them, too. The voyage through life takes each one of us through an assortment of experiences. Some of them ennoble us. Some crush us. Some lift us beyond ourselves and carry us into the lives of those who need us. And some carry us to those we need. Some experiences are burdens. Others ease and encourage us. Some leave us baffled and unsure. Some build confidence within us and are so affirming that we grow in substance, in courage, in tenderness, and sympathy. As we age, the lines in our faces can represent the hurts we have not yet resolved. Or t

If I had five minutes to evacuate--what would I take with me?

If I was told there was a bomb in my building and I had five minutes to evacuate my apartment I’d grab a grocery bag and quickly toss these items into it: 1. A photo of my grandparents, Mom and Pop and me, when I was 15 years old. I learned what love is made of from them. I learned what it is to be kissed on and hugged in arms so tender they felt like God’s arms. I discovered self worth from those two angels in human flesh. Of all the people in my life, they were the ones who made me feel I counted. Honestly, whatever capacity I have to love others came from them. 2. A sentimental, dog-eared, stars in the margin copy of Pat Conroy’s, “The Prince of Tides.” It is a book I have read three times and often return to for its wisdom. It is a harsh, profoundly tragic novel, the story of a family so broken and tortured by such flawed and wounded people that it is sometimes difficult to turn the next page. And yet it is the story of such Herculean courage and endurance that you want

Do we need a new country?

Have you seen the elaborate, stylish, opulent television commercial for Cartier? The original commercial seemed to go on forever, a full three minutes. They have shortened it now, but it still drips with ostentatiousness. It is conspicuously pretentious in spite of the beautiful music and the sleek panther and the stunning scenery and the elegant model dressed in a striking red gown. The commercial takes the viewer through an amazing montage of dreamy landscapes and famous cities and spectacular stunts while moving past a giant expensive watch and finally to a glittering diamond bracelet modeled by the woman in red. Each time I see it I keep wondering who the target audience is. It seems to be such an over the top expression of unbridled greed and materialism gone ape. In a time when much of the world is starving and millions are still out of work here at home it seems bizarre that Cartier would spend what has to be millions on a television commercial celebrating 165 years in

The Unclad Soul

Search This Blog