President Abraham Lincoln, March 4,
1861: “We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though
passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic
chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every
living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the
chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better
angels of our nature”.
It is time again for Americans to stop being enemies. We must
not be enemies based on our last names, our religion, our gender, our economic
status, or even by our political ideologies. We must all allow ourselves to be
touched by the better angels of our nature. We must not act out of anger and
fear but from compassion and good faith that we can all work together to solve
our problems. America’s problems are not caused by one religion, or by the rich
or the poor. America’s problems are caused by technological disruptions to the
global economy that have impacted wealthy nations more adversely than
developing nations.
In the past, America has been able to work together to solve
our problems. Today we are unable to do this. Not because we no longer have the
brain power and work ethic that has made America great – it is because we have
become so polarized that we cannot find enough common ground to summon the
American spirit into action. It is
because we have a dearth of leadership that can bring people together.
What America needs is leadership to harness the spirit of
Americans towards addressing our problems – not a fear monger that leads
Americans to believe that they have no part in solving our problems other than
to point to a group of people as the cause of our problems. Does anyone believe that deporting all illegal
immigrants would solve our problems? Would deporting every Muslim solve our
problems? Would torturing people solve our problems? Did shutting down the
government solve our problems?
Not one of these actions, nor all in combination would solve
our problems. To the contrary, each and all of these actions would only make
things worse. Irrational actions as a result of fear and/or anger rarely make
things better. As children, we were all taught to count to ten before
responding to someone that had made us angry. If ever there was a time to count
to ten, it is that moment in New York right now. One thing is certain, Donald
Trump has made Americans angry.
It is my sincere hope that after counting to ten, New Yorkers
will choose a leader that speaks to unity rather than divisiveness; a leader
that offers rational solutions rather than blame calling; a leader with the
character required to be the leader of the free world; a leader that provides
the confidence of being able to manage a world conflict with maturity rather than
with a tweet; a leader that knows the issues and has a track record of solving
issues; a leader that can work within the framework of a democracy.
New York, please count to ten. Donald Trump has provided
plain descriptions of many of America’s problems and his blunt talk and bravado
does provide a sense that he will actually do something about those problems.
Unfortunately, he doesn’t speak to the main problem America faces: the lack of
leadership required to unite people to work together to solve our problems.
Mr. Trump should be credited with awakening our politicians
to the severe mistrust we all have with Washington politicians. Mr. Trump’s
identification of the many problems we face also sheds light on our government’s
incompetence to fix these problems. But please do not be fooled into thinking
that Donald Trump can fix the problems by his mere determination. Polarization
in Washington is our biggest problem. A man that believes that he can be the
dictator in a constitutionally democratic government can only further polarize
Washington.
Donald Trump has some good ideas. We need a wall on our
border. But we need to get Democrats and Republicans to agree to such an
action. The President is not a dictator. Government is not a business. Donald
Trump is the dictator of his business because he owns the business. In America,
330 million people own the country.
The only area where our president has near dictator authority
is in the use of military power. Do you believe that Donald Trump has the
maturity of restraint necessary to prevent world disasters? Would Donald Trump
tweet out his anger at Russia’s President Putin or would he air mail a nuclear
missile instead? His behavior to this point must lead us to conclude that we do
not know what he would do. Please count to ten – either choice (the tweet or
the missile) is not good.
Mr. Trump speaks with common sense on some issues and with
complete ignorance on others. Building a wall (or at least controlling our
border) is common sense. Torture is a really bad idea. It sounds good to say
that the terrorists torture our soldiers so we are going to torture the
terrorists. But we are Americans and after we count to ten, we know we are
better than the terrorists. Torture is beneath us. After being interviewed on the
issue of abortion, Mr. Trump changed his position three times in three hours
because he had not previously thought the issue through. Then there is the Middle
East. How many common sense solutions has he provided on the Syrian situation?
First it was let the Russians handle it. Then it was let Syrian’s neighbors
handle it. Then it was let the Russian’s take out ISIS and then we’ll take out
Syrian President al-Assad. Mr. Trump’s reactionary solutions sound like common
sense in the moment of his reaction, but they do not stand up to the test of
time – if they did, they would not have changed so frequently.
If Mr. Trump gets that 3AM call with an issue of world war or
peace, will he have enough principle and knowledge to confidently make the
right call? We do not have any facts to tell us the answer is yes. Actually,
his behavior and changing positions suggest that the answer is no. At best we
do not know.
With Donald Trump disqualified for consideration by actually
considering the consequences, Senator Cruz may arise as a potential
replacement. However, the Senator is also a polarizing politician that has been
unable to gather support from his fellow members of the Senate (except for a
mere two at this point in time). Senator Cruz single-handedly shut down the
government during the “fiscal cliff.” He is proposing to patrol Muslim
neighborhoods to root out radical Islamists. Need it be mentioned that he used
the term “New York values” in a disparagingly manner? Again, count to ten
before selecting Senator Cruz. He offers no solution to America’s greatest challenge
– the lack of unifying leadership.
So that leaves one man standing – Governor John Kasich of
Ohio. Fairway Frank endorsed Governor Kasich on January 22, 2016 when there
were still 17 candidates in the Republican race. My reason stated for endorsing
Governor Kasich was that he was a unifier – a leader willing to work with the
other side. Governor Kasich is a man that knows how the America government
works and he has made it work. He is a good and honest man that has the
character required for the job. He is a man we can be proud to call our
President.
Consider the three Republican candidates remaining, and
picture which one you would consider a statesman. That is the one that should
be our president.
Today (April 12, 2016) Governor Kasich gave a speech in New
York titled “Two Paths.” As of the writing of this blog entry, the speech is
not yet available online for viewing. Had it been available, a link would have
been provided here. In fact, this blog entry will be updated with the link as
soon as it becomes available. Governor Kasich’s speech is powerful. It summons
the better angles of our nature to select between two paths: one of darkness
and division or the positive path of problem solving through working together.
I encourage all readers to watch Governor Kasich’s speech.
Count to ten New York. Your vote will select the path for all
America. Your vote could put Donald Trump’s delegate count high enough to
enable him to clinch the total delegates required before the nominating convention.
Or, your vote could deny Donald Trump this advantage and provide America with
more time to consider what we are doing.
It is a near impossibility for Donald Trump to win the
general election so voting for him to be the Republican nominee is giving the
Democrats the presidency and maybe both houses of Congress. If you still think
the statement of voting for Donald Trump to be the Republican Party nominee is
a noble cause because it sends a message to Washington – you’re correct. But
that message has already been sent and received. Again, Mr. Trump deserves
credit for making Washington aware of the anger and distrust of the American
people. That alone however, does not qualify him to be the president.
Your vote may satisfy the anger you feel but it will not
magnify the message already received in Washington (Americans are distrustful
and angry at an incompetent government). Forego the personal satisfaction of
the anger venting vote and remember what President Kennedy said in his
inaugural speech: “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can
do for your country.” Kenney’s inaugural speech in 1961 came 100 years after
Lincoln’s in 1861.
This appeal does not come from the “Stop Trump Movement” nor
from the “Establishment.” The author has never held a political office nor
aspired to do so. The author is a member of no political organization. Furthermore,
the author has been a registered independent for the past ten years because of
the divisiveness perpetrated by both parties. Recently, the author changed his
registration to Republican so that he can vote for Governor Kasich in the
Pennsylvania primary elections on April 26th. Following the
Pennsylvania primaries, the author intends to re-register as an independent.
This blog entry goes directly to the purpose stated on the
banner of the blog itself: “This blog is dedicated to public awareness of the
issues facing America, civil discourse, and a search for leadership!” I believe
that Governor Kasich is the leader we are all searching for!
As an American concerned about all the issues you are
concerned about – I strongly urge New York Republicans to count to ten before
you vote.
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