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Love Trump?

Despite my many criticisms of Donald Trump, I haven’t given up all hope. Between the few good things he’s done and the Women’s March, I’ve come to a place of potential loving welcome for this rascal.

He’s a rascal, but he thinks for himself and can go his own way. He’s bold enough to skillfully hide his ordinary bald head with a crown of golden fleece.  He has a better hair-do than most women!  This shows a can-do spirit of someone who masters his personal challenges.

Though Trump has brought in the rightly-feared hard-right wing of the Republican Party, he isn’t beholden to the Republicans. He was, and could be again, independent. As is, he will be remembered as a problem, an embarrassment, a tragedy.  He could change that script by actually bringing in those who are alarmed and have other approaches.

His and their constant criticism and cynicism, their relentless ridicule, played our low-brain’s negativity bias, and got them elected. But also, Trump’s near-Bernie sympathy for lost jobs and rebuilding our infrastructure spoke to a glaring need.  Work and productivity kept going up while wages and security kept going down. Addressing this wide-spread need with practical remedies roused the hope in an outsider.  He promised jobs, as if that will only help.

Unless it hurts.  There are five times more jobs now in clean, renewable energy supply compared to old, dirty, polluting, expendable fossil fuel ones, yet he stymies the former and adds to the glut for the latter.  Not all jobs are good for us.  Local production of goods and services for local use, using clean technologies and paying fair wages, are the sorts of jobs we, our society, and our environment need.  More work, income, security, and time-off for all of us.

He could stimulate just such jobs, but not when advised by the world’s biggest old-world energy companies and far-right wackos.

If he were to bring in James Hansen to head the EPA, Ralph Nader to be Attorney General, Elizabeth Warren to head the consumer protection agency she helped start, Elon Musk to advise Energy and Transportation, and put Quincy Jones in charge of international relations in the Department of State – this would be inclusive, intelligent, and truly transformational.

This would change the current narrative from one of chaos, division, and threat to one of practical promise. We don’t need wars on Iran or any others. We don’t need civil war at home. We need each other, all of us.

How I wish he could have been in my home town for the Women’s March.  Instead of feeling defensive and resentful, he might have had his heart touched and healed from all the colorful, sincere, innocent, prayer-full, alarmed expressions.  It was against Trump only for what he has done and is doing to embarrass, discount, and insult us, take our government apart, and turn our environment over to heartless and ruthless corporations.  He would be loved if he were to realize this and change to lead all of us.

No eagle can fly if its left wing is limp, bludgeoned or amputated.

He’s bold and independent enough to fix this and get us flying together again.  He might have the character to fix the mess he’s created. As is, it’s more resentment, pity, grief and resistance.

Come on, Donald, you could get the respect and love you want by giving us reason to want to give it.  Are you as golden as your hair?  Or is that just part of your con job as you embarrass and bankrupt America?

Now that you’ve stumbled (aided by Russia and Fake News) into the the White House, you still have the chance to earn our respect and, yes, even love.  You can get adulation and obedience from the narrow angry right in our society. Or, you could make a bold and good mark on history. You could pull off a delightful surprise, a better story than the usual rise and fall of tin-pot dictators. You could be loved and cooperated with by all of us if you were to give us reason for both.

 

 

Byron has been using his writing and public speaking to engage, challenge and inspire audiences for over 40 years. Reverend Carrier's mission is to rescue and revive our earthly Eden, including our human worth and potential. If you enjoy his work, consider supporting him with Patreon.

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Steven
Steven
7 years ago

Nice article. I think many people are still holding out for Trump to somehow come through with beneficial action. Only time will tell.

John
John
6 years ago

I was half-expecting him to flip flop almost immediately and return to his liberal roots, betraying the alt-right by appointing Obama to the Supreme Court, and maybe even putting Hillary back to work as SoS. Alas, my other half-expectation seems to have prevailed…

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