Donald Trump has prompted people everywhere to consider what it means to be a good person. His outrageous, disrespectful, hateful and dishonest comments and behaviors challenge values, manners, and respect that we've held up as examples of common decency over time. During the RNC Convention, we see Trump, his family members, and cronies continue this smug, untruthful, disrespectful behavior--it's a modern day freak show. Why do some accept this behavior? Why do some support this kind of backwards, dangerous leadership?
I think that there are two main groups of Trump supporters. There are those, similar to Trump, who only care about their own fame and gain. Those people use Trump as their puppet to elevate their own self-serving policies and actions. Then there are those who are fooled by Trump's trickster and manipulative marketing. Those people seem to buy into the Trump team's fear mongering--it's likely that many of these people have lived with less than positive circumstances so they are willing to accept abusive, disrespectful qualities in their leaders too.
No leader is perfect as no person is perfect, but when we consider who we support as leaders, we need to choose good people. We can't accept liars, hate/fear mongerers, and irresponsible, self-serving, ignorant manipulators for leaders--this does no one any good, and puts our good country at risk. Trump's short sighted policies have already failed. This is evident in his quick-fix economy that collapsed when challenged by the pandemic, our good quality living that is facing the most dramatic challenge of our lives with the pandemic, and growing pollution and destruction with regard to our natural environment.
We need good people to lead us? We deserve good leaders?
What are the characteristics of good people and good leaders? What do they do? How do they act?
Honest
Good people tell the truth. They don't lie.
Commitment
Good people demonstrate commitment in their work, living and relationships. Trump's revolving door of cabinet members, advisors, and wives/girlfriends demonstrate his inability to sustain committed relationships.
Kindness and Love
Good people act with kindnes and love. They work to help and care for one another, and work for people's good living. The way Trump has made fun of physically challenged people and incited violence and murder via his passivity and hate rhetoric are two examples of his inability to be kind or loving.
Positive, Healthy Activity
Good people exemplify positive, healthy activity. They live in ways that make them as healthy and strong as possible. They support policies and actions that elevate individual's and the community's health. Trump's roll back of policies that foster heathy food for children, and his apparant lack of self-care demonstrate his lack of ability to support positive, healthy activity.
Focused on Good Values
Good people are focused on good values. They sacrifice self-gratification often in order to live by good values, the kind of values that support positive living for self and others. We never see Trump demonstrating good values--instead we see him ranting hate, lies, and self-serving exaggeration all the time. Many of his associates are in jail because of their lawless activity. His family stole from their own charity, and he apparently has been cheating on his taxes. He does not exemplify good values or actions.
Empathy
Good people listen to one another. They are able to step into the shoes of others and understand their plight, happiness, needs, and values. Good people use empathy to care for and support one another. Trump's continued passivity and subtle and more overt support of prejudice and racism demonstrates his lack of empathy for Americans and races, cultures, and religions they represent.
Vision and Mission
Good people hold positive vision and mission as their life light--good people work towards good living for themselves and others with a strong sense of vision and mission. Trump appears to live with a narrow vision and mission to elevate his wealth, power, and self-gratification alone. This is bogus when it comes to good leadership for all Americans.
Healthy Routines
Good people live with healthy routines. Trump never exemplifies a healthy routine.
Self-Discipline
Good people exemplify self-discipline. They don't rant and rave, but instead use words purposefully to educate and inform. They don't tweet incessently throughout the night, but instead work in systematic ways to make change. They act more than they react. Trump demonstrates little self-discipline, and this is a real challenge when it comes to thoughtful, measureed, and positive leadership.
Children First
Good people are focused on the kind of living that elevates and enriches the lives of children. Good people don't use children, but instead live and act with respect for children first. Trump's apparant lack of healthy, happy living with his children and grandchildren demonstrate his lack of respect for his own family. The way he talks at his rallies in front of small children demonstrates his lack of concern for children's well-being, health, and happiness, and the fact that his rhetoric spreads prejudice and violence is an afront to children's good living too.
Education
Good people value good educations, and continually work to educate themselves in an effort to live as well as possible. Trump has done nothing to support a quality education for every American child while in office.
Generous
Good people are generous of spirit, wealth, and time. They give what they can when they can. The Trumps steal from their own charity, don't pay their fair share of taxes, borrow lots of money and don't pay it back, personally profit off of their government work, and cheat the common person agan and again. They are not a generous family, but instead a self-serving family focused on their own fame and gain.
Self Care
Good people take care of themselves. They know that when they care for themselves, they are better able to care for others. Many of us battle with self-care, Trump is a poster child for this challenge.
Family First
Good people take care of their families, and do their best to uplift family members' lives. Trump never demonstrates good family values--we never see him making time to enjoy his family in positive ways. It seems that the only shared activities the family enjoys together are meals at fancy clubs and collaborating around trickster, manipulative efforts to elevate their wealth and power.
I hope that this election will find make Joe Biden the next President and Kamala Harris the next Vice President. They are good people who will work for the rights and good living for ALL Americans. They will lead with respect and will surround themselves with a team of the best and brightest experienced Americans who will also lead with good values, vision, and mission.
Donald Trump is a manipulative trickster whose primary mission is to take care of himself. He has demonstrated his inability to be truthful, kind, loving, intelligent, collaborative, or effective as a leader. He takes us down in many, many ways. We can do better. We must do better.