Unity – The Unity Bell

What does it mean for America to be great?

The theme of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign was Make America Great Again, and this resonated deeply with much of the electorate. Personally, I struggled to understand in what way people thought America had lost its greatness and what his proposals would do to restore it. I admit that with this failure to understand, I often thought the worst of people’s motivations and I want to rectify that. It made me realize that we need a foundational conversation on what it is that makes America great. Please, share your thoughts. How do you define American greatness?

For me, the idea of America is by itself one of the most powerful forces for good in the history of the world. A land where people of varying different faiths and backgrounds came together and mutually agreed to a system of government of the people, by the people, and for the people. Where life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are core values that we do not compromise, and that are protected by the Bill of Rights. Please review all 10 of them again, as I did just now. We often focus on just a few, and need to remember that all of these rights are most important at the times when our leaders tell us we must abandon them due to fear.

Another core value is that America can be a beacon to people from around the world. America was never just for any one group of people. Anyone who believes in the idea of America and is willing to live up to the responsibility is considered a valuable contributor to our nation. We grow stronger by bringing in people from around the world and incorporating the best of their cultures into our own. There has been resistance to most newcomers from the beginning, but when we look back we see that they have made us better as a nation. Even if we don’t have capacity to take in all comers, we are at our best when we strive to offer the opportunities of America to as many as we can handle.

You may have noticed that I did not mention being number one in the world, whether about having a dominant military or the world’s strongest economy. To me, these characteristics have supported our greatness but are not its foundation. We have faced countless threats to our security over our history and overcome them all. But we only truly damage our place in the world when we succumb to fear and trade off the best of our values in the name of an elusive security. Or place our economic health above our moral health. We should never sacrifice the best of America to the fears of the day.

And that is why we must openly acknowledge and confront the worst of America as well. No nation is perfect, and we do not need to apologize for the fact that we are not. But there are dark times in our past where we have done great harm to those who did not deserve it, and we diminish them as humans if we do not own up to those flaws and vow to learn from them. I can only imagine how my words above must read to a Native American, for example. It would appear that I am dismissive of the fact that much of the foundation of what we have in our country was built by doing great harm to them. We owe it to them to at the very least acknowledge this harm.

It is in looking at when we have failed to live up to our greatness that teaches us how to properly define our values. Examining our periods of moral failure next to our successes gives us a deeper understanding of what the best of this country truly is. I can summarize it by noting that America has been great when we commit to the offering the American dream of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for everyone. When we let fear drive us to exclude certain groups from that dream is America at its worst.

My letter to the President-elect can now be seen in the context of this view of American greatness. It is not primarily his core policies that disturb me. It is what he says and it is even what he does not say. He uses ambiguity to let his words support the most hateful and divisive ideas of those who do not believe in an inclusive America and would use fear and resentment to marginalize those who are different. And leave us wondering if that is the route he will choose. It is up to all of us to hold him to a higher standard.

Please Mr. President-elect

Please Mr. President-elect, show us you mean it when you talk about uniting the country.

Let’s get this out of the way. I didn’t want you to win. You weren’t my first choice. You might have even been my very last choice out of 320 million people in this country.

But my fellow Americans did choose you. Tens of millions of them. I am ashamed to acknowledge that I did not do a good enough job of listening to them to understand why. They weren’t hard to find. They are my family and friends and coworkers. And their voice counts for exactly as much as mine does. And they certainly now have my attention.

This cuts both ways. There are tens of millions of Americans who did not want you, who still protest at the very idea of your presence in the White House. And to your credit, you have quickly called out the need for unity, and to be their President as well. Throughout your campaign you have shown your supporters that you know how to connect with their frustrations. But you haven’t yet done that for the rest of us.

How do you plan to do that? Only you know, but perhaps you would be willing to hear what it would take for this opponent of your campaign to begin to respect your presidency.

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Let’s start with your signature issue, immigration. You have in the past acknowledged that a large majority of illegal immigrants are tremendously hard-working people who love their families so much that they braved dangerous border crossings to come here to do backbreaking jobs that our citizens won’t for wages that barely even register in this country. Reasonable people can disagree about what to do about that reality. You can say that they don’t have a right to stay here if they did not follow the proper legal process. But we don’t have to take joy in breaking up families, in ruining lives, in painting all Mexicans with the label of criminals and murderers and rapists.

Please Mr. President-elect – show your humanity by joining your policy of a wall and deportations with loud and forceful calls for respect. Send the message to your supporters that just because we are sending them back doesn’t mean we have to be happy about it, or hate them, or treat them as lesser beings. And that great care will be taken to ensure that people who are legally in this country will not be harassed and treated as if they have to prove that they are truly Americans. You must demonstrate to everyone that this policy is really about the rule of law and not about racial resentment. And that anyone who takes your policy positions as an excuse to harass anyone is not displaying the values of the Trump administration.

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At some point in the next 4 years, a Muslim will commit an act of violence in this country. As will a Christian, and a Jew, and a white person and a black person and every other kind of person. But you have made it clear that when the act of violence is committed by a Muslim, you will hold all Muslims accountable for it. Others will not face that expectation. And will not face the inevitable retaliation directed at innocent and patriotic American Muslims. Not to mention the vast majority of peace-loving Muslims in other parts of the world who oppose what ISIS stands for just as much as we do.

Please Mr. President-elect –You must make it absolutely clear with no room for interpretation that Muslims are not uniquely responsible for the worst among them. That we will fight with all of our might against terrorists of all kinds, but that we will not confuse the innocent with the guilty. That Muslims who are already here are welcome as true American citizens. And that people who want to come to this country will not face a higher bar for entry just because of their country of origin or religion. If you really think extreme vetting is the way to keep us safe, then apply it to everyone from every country and every religion.

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Let’s talk about women. Now that you are no longer running against Hillary Clinton, there is no more hiding behind comparisons of your behavior to that of Bill Clinton. It is long past time to own the fact that you bragged about sexually assaulting women. And that when many women stepped forward to claim that it wasn’t just words and that you violated them, you dismissed them.

We don’t need to dwell on what did or did not happen in those cases, or whether your words ever translated into action. We can live in the present. Now, you are the role model-in-chief. Your words and actions send signals around the world. And your campaign left hanging a powerful message that women’s bodies are there for your pleasure as a man. And that men consider it perfectly acceptable to say that to each other and to pass it off as harmless fun.

Please Mr. President-elect – Use your megaphone to correct that story. Tell us that no talk or action that demeans women in such a way is acceptable at any time. Tell us that your administration will enact changes that will make women safe from this type of predatory behavior. Because no matter how many glass ceilings get shattered, women can never be equals in our society as long as the men in power treat them this way.

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How about the black community? Your outreach to this group that has a long and tragic history in our country consisted of saying that they have nothing to lose because their only problem is that the inner cities that they live in are violence-infested and that a stronger police presence will make it all right. And you have criticized Black Lives Matter by reducing them to being defined by the few violent members among them.

Please Mr. President-elect – Listen to black people and understand the reasons why they protest. Follow the example of Glenn Beck, and simply open your mind and heart to the injustices that they experience. Understand the immeasurable harm that a heavy police presence already does to law-abiding black people who are viewed with suspicion every day of their lives. This is the only thing I ask of you here. Once you engage and are able to gain a greater understanding of their perspective, you will be able to see that there are ways to respect our black citizens without sacrificing law and order for all of us.

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One group that you have respected since before your campaign is the LGBTQ community. You have never shown an inclination to restrict their rights and seem comfortable to let them live as themselves in peace and as equals under the law.

Please Mr. President-elect – Recognize that by continuing to stand for LGBTQ people even if many of your supporters don’t like it, you will be reaffirming basic human love and decency in a profound way.

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Let’s not forget that a large part of the success of your campaign is that you did a wonderful job telling your supporters that you cared about the economic troubles they face and that it will be your mission to fix it. But you did it by pinning the blame on foreigners. Whether it is the Mexican immigrants who have come here and taken their jobs, or the Chinese trade imbalance, you painted a picture of economic pain caused by outsiders. And that fuels more resentment.

Many disagree with your assessment of the impact of trade and immigration, but I won’t tell you that it is wrong to go down the path of addressing those factors. But I will point out that you are a lifelong global businessman and you must see the elephant in the room. Technological disruption. The world of work is changing more rapidly than it ever has. Jobs are being automated, and services are becoming more and more valuable. People need to adapt and you know it.

Please Mr. President-elect – You owe it to your supporters to speak the hard truths. Foreigners are not primarily responsible for the job climate. The educational bar for success in the modern world has risen, and continues to rise quickly. It is a cruel reality, as we have never undergone such rapid change. But as long as you pin the blame on others, you make it too easy for our country to ignore addressing the core problems.

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Even if you were to follow my suggestions to the letter, I won’t pretend that this would satisfy everyone. Many will still be dramatically opposed to your policies and will fight you tirelessly. But the reality is that the most divisive and hateful elements of our society are flourishing right now and believe they are acting in the name of Donald J. Trump. You need to take dramatic steps to show the country that you stand for all Americans. And when people oppose you still – that is when you can show the world that you are a winner who can rise above it all and respect the basic rights that are fundamental to being American.

Please Mr. President-elect – Don’t succumb to authoritarian methods and suppress the voices of your foes in the public or the press. By letting them attack you without any attempts to shut them down, you will show that you trust the people of this country to decide the truth for themselves. You have achieved the presidency despite relentless opposition, so surely you can stay strong and tolerate enormous dissent now that you will hold the office. And there is no need to jail your opponents. The legal system has spoken, and by respecting that decision, you show that you can be a winner by facing your opponents directly and honestly without using your powers for intimidation.

Please Mr. President-elect – Show all of us that when you say you are going to Make America Great Again, that you will do it by respecting those things that made us great in the first place and that you will be doing it for everyone in this country. That is the difficult task of the uniter, and nothing would please me more than to see you pull that off against all odds, much like everything else you have achieved throughout your rise to the White House.

Ringing a bell for unity

Today I start my first blog, and something more too. I have had this concept for a few months now as I watch the divide between the artificial poles of liberal and conservative grow wider and wider. The accepted narrative is that our system produced the 2 worst presidential candidates out of 320 million people in this country. It has been developing over years as we get fired up by what we see in our chosen media, we obsess over politics, and specifically about ensuring that the people we vote for must share our exact beliefs or we consider them a threat to our way of life. We unload our most toxic views on social media or other online channels, often anonymously. We talk at the people we know and tell them why they are wrong and we are right. We selectively choose our facts based on which ones align with our beliefs. And then we lament that the people who are supposed to be leading our country can’t get anything done.

What do we want them to get done? For so many of us, if it is not exactly what we want, they should fight against it and defeat our ‘enemies’, meaning anyone who thinks differently. Compromise is a sign of weakness. Acknowledging that another perspective is valid is continuing the decline of our country. Wanting leaders and representatives who are able to identify problems and come together with solutions that work for the majority of people is a foreign concept. We have picked our team, Democrat or Republican, and know with certainty that an effective leader from the other team is still the wrong choice for our country because their views are wrong. And the independent voters don’t get a pass here either. Even though we haven’t picked a constant team to root for, we still just look for the candidate whose beliefs our closest to our own, regardless of who would be the best leader.

Isn’t there another way? Can’t we listen to each other? I don’t mean hold a conversation where we wait for the other person to stop talking so we can educate them. I mean listen, really listen! Try to understand, put ourselves in their shoes. Acknowledge that their beliefs come from somewhere real. That maybe even if we don’t agree with how they want to deal with it, whatever forces in their lives are leading them to these beliefs come from somewhere deep and profound, and that if these underlying causes go ignored, anger and resentment ensue. And maybe hatred, and self-destructive behavior, or violence towards others, or anything that tells the world that I AM A REAL PERSON AND I MATTER, DAMMIT!

And those feelings are the ones we need to acknowledge and understand and empathize with and address. Once we have educated ourselves on the humanity of those we share this planet with and the genuine emotions they feel, only then can we understand a path forward. Only then can we talk about how to solve the problems we face. Because let’s face it, if you don’t understand the problem, YOU CAN’T SOLVE IT. Sounds obvious, but think about whether or not you really live this idea on a daily basis. And ask yourself whether you want to really hear others or just have them agree with you.

I know many of you are hurting about the election of Donald Trump and scared of what the next four years will bring. Others are excited about the possibilities for change but don’t know what they can count on with someone whose governing approach is a complete unknown. That is why it is critical that we all recognize that the President doesn’t operate in a vacuum. We are the ones who create our culture, and enforce our norms, and set examples for each other, and make this life worth living. And give our leaders the mandate for what they need to accomplish and condone or condemn them when they don’t live up to that standard. And if we want our country to be great, we must come together with those of all beliefs and collectively define our idea of greatness. And recognize that the changes that will help us to be a better place may not be ones that fit our every ideal, but just might do something to improve our collective humanity. The one thing that should be clear to all of us after this election marathon is that there are extensive divides within our society that are only growing deeper. It is not up to the politicians. It is our responsibility.

So what do we do? The answer is different for all of us, but the only answer that is not okay is sitting on the sidelines and watching and complaining about the system. Trust me, I have done that for too long and even writing these words is building a feeling of growth and optimism within me. My answer is to do my small part to facilitate the building of community and understanding among people with differing viewpoints. And if you are reading this, I want you to take part and recognize that you have a voice that should be heard by others, as well as having the ability to grow by listening to their voices.

The idea is that I will use this blog to post about challenging topics. I’ll try to frame questions that draw out your thoughts, as well as boldly and unapologetically sharing my own views. And I will be happy to engage a dialogue in various forms. Comments on the blog are of course welcome and I’ll do my best to respond quickly. I’ll share posts via other social media. The specifics of this plan will evolve, and I welcome feedback. The real goal though is to use the blog as a jumping off point for all of us to have difficult but rewarding conversations in person with members of our communities. I encourage any of you to reach out to me directly to speak about these topics and to share this idea with your own networks. If you live in the Denver area, let’s get together and respectfully challenge each other face to face. If there is enough interest, we can do group discussions and bring in a wide range of perspectives.

This is my call to action. I am ringing a bell and asking you all to join in unity. Working together we can discover an incredible power to change the world that has always been lying within us. Let’s start doing it!