Our new president has only been in office for a couple of days more than a week and he is already proving to be the amateur that I feared he would be. He made a number of promises during his campaign which were often ill considered and the boasts of someone who doesn’t fully understand the job of chief executive of a powerful nation. Sadly former presidents Bush and Obama vastly increased the use of executive actions during their terms and thus opened the door for the kind of wholesale orders that Trump signed this week. Perhaps the most egregious thing that has happened in our recent history is the easing of the system of checks and balances through the backdoor tactic that President Trump used so thoughtlessly last week. We certainly may have issues with some or all of the pronouncements that Trump set into action but we should in reality be more concerned with the trend of unilateral decision making by one person that has become more and more fashionable in the past several years. While we may have agreed with the decisions of our former presidents we should always be wary of putting too much power into the hands of a single individual. Our Founding Fathers understood this all too well and now we are witnessing the problems with the reckless use of the power of the presidential pen. We all should have cringed when President Obama told us that if Congress would not act he would instead use his pen to get his wishes. Now we are facing the prospect of enduring four years of rashly considered executive orders and the ensuing chaos that they may engender.
There is so much to be said about the actions that President Trump took last week but I will focus on his temporary ban on immigration and travel to the United States by individuals from six primarily Muslim countries. It is obvious that the president and some of his close aides authored the pronouncements in haste in order to demonstrate that President Trump is a man of action, someone who doesn’t waste time in getting things done. While this might at first glance sound reasonable enough to his supporters it neglects the very necessary step of considering unforeseen consequences of a decision that must be part and parcel of the process. This takes more than a few hours or even a few days and requires feedback even from those who oppose the move. Their ideas are just as important in fashioning a fair and effective order as those from enthusiastic advocates. All of the questions and difficulties should have been openly addressed long before any type of order was signed.
Another problem with this particular order is that it seems to have been done without properly informing the very people who are taxed with its enforcement, leading to unwarranted confusion. By the end of the weekend it was apparent that multiple mistakes had been made that need never have happened. The roll out should have been delayed long enough to include opportunities for everyone to prepare for its enforcement and to note potential concerns and problems that might occur. To suddenly spring such a dramatic change on even those who already had visas and were in transit to our country is unjust. To realize after the fact that the directive was unclear in how to deal with those who already hold green cards was indicative of a lack of adequate planning. All in all it demonstrated that the president is still very much a rookie.
Perhaps President Trump’s most egregious habit is an inability to admit mistakes. This is a fatal flaw and one that I fear he will not be able to overcome since it appears to be an unshakeable aspect of his character or lack of it. Again and again he insists on lying when the truth is so obvious. This weekend he actually seemed to think that we would buy his argument that the confusion at the nation’s airports was caused not by the impact of his executive order regarding his temporary ban of people from certain countries but a computer problem with Delta Airlines. This type of juvenile behavior is unbecoming to his office and an embarrassment. It calls everything that he does into question. He tells us that he is here to work with all of us but then insults anyone who disagrees with him and asks us to suspend reality with his silly excuses when things don’t go as he had planned.
it may be somewhat true that many of the reactions to President Trump’s latest foray into imposing his beliefs onto the nation may have been somewhat hyperbolic, hysterical and hypocritical but it is easy to understand why they so fear his actions. He has been remiss in demonstrating the calm deliberation that is needed for his office. Frankly he is in fact scarring many people. We need to feel secure that he will not involve us in any actions that will be harmful to our democracy and our freedoms. Sadly he has mostly exhibited a profoundly erratic temperament that is far from being reassuring. While bluster may be appropriate in some situations a true leader needs to know when to curb such tendencies. Thus far he has not given us any indications that he knows how to do that.
On this date in history we were saddened by the explosion of the Challenger as it carried our astronauts into space. Then President Reagan demonstrated how to strike a tone that would resonate with the American people as he spoke so sincerely and eloquently of the tremendous sense of sadness that we were all feeling. Mr. Trump needs to begin to develop a connection with all of us. He should have prefaced this executive order by speaking directly to we the people. He might have quietly and rationally provided us with the reasoning behind his thinking. He had the opportunity to include us in the deliberations by asking for our input before he put the new policy into effect. He might have learned from us and gained our respect if only he had explained the timeline and what his ultimate intentions are. Instead he continued to boast in tweets that his is a great plan that is going well and to ignore the concerns that so many have.
The fact is that Donald Trump is not the first president to create a temporary ban of travel and immigration from specific countries. Jimmy Carter prevented Iranians from coming here during the height of the hostage situation and more recently President Obama instituted a six month ban for Iraqis. Presidents sometimes have to do such things. We might have been more open to this executive order had there been more of a sense of thoughtfulness and less of a feeling that it was going to happen regardless of what we think simply because Trump won.
I would caution President Trump, Congress, the Supreme Court and the American people to curb their rhetoric and tribal instincts and begin to rationally dialogue with one another or our beautiful democracy is in danger of being torn asunder. We have to rediscover who we are as a people. It will take great courage to work out our problems. Now more than ever we need leaders who are less concerned about party lines and reelections and more driven by love of country. We are all watching and hoping for evidence that we still have guardians of democracy in our midst.
Freedom is a beautiful thing. It allows each of us to decide for ourselves what we believe. Of course there are certain restrictions to our liberties. We agree as a society that it is innately wrong to murder or steal. There are extremes of very bad behavior that virtually all of us abhor. Beyond that there is often room for differences of opinion and for the most part we respect and protect one another’s right to divergent thinking. The bedrock of our free society is based upon the notion that we are entitled to our opinions. We generally have a “to each his own” way of getting along in a highly diverse society. 
I find myself caught up in a web from which there is no escape. What is my sin? I am too willing to consider differing points of view. I have no strict adherence to a particular set of beliefs that put me in league with an identifiable group. I am not a joiner or someone who will fight to death for one philosophy. Words that are tossed at me include “wishy washy,” “weak-kneed,” “phony bipartisan,” “bogus,” “troll.” Because I refuse to go all in for any single political, philosophical or religious institution I am considered by many to be someone of shallow intellect whose thinking should either be ignored or thought to be humorously naive. The very thought of advocating diplomacy or compromise is anathema in today’s supercharged environment. I am not allowed to see life in shades of gray. I must instead side with one position or another. There is no middle ground. That place is for those who have no courage which translates to the fact that many think me a coward simply because I walk a fine line between one way of thinking and another. My thoughts cannot be neatly categorized and for that I am considered by many to be a freak.
For some this will be a day of celebration, for others disappointment. Forty four times we have inaugurated a new President of these United States and in each instance the transition of power from one man to another has been peaceful even if not enthusiastic. It is how our government was designed to work. Today the forty fifth man will utter the Oath of Office that has been repeated so many times according the Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution, “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of the president of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
There is a certain irony that my grandson Jack performed in his last musical with the varsity theater group at his school this past weekend and that the play was Into the Woods. The piece was wildly popular on Broadway in the nineteen eighties about the time that Jack’s mother was ending her own days in high school. It is a profound story of relationships and the consequences of the choices that we make. It is a study of the fine line between childhood and becoming a true adult. Nothing is as it really seems or as simple as we would like things to be. 
All It Takes Is A Little Love 