Things I wish the President would say

“I’m not perfect. I make mistakes. But I do my best, I own my mistakes, and I will always be honest about my mistakes.”

“I don’t have all the answers. Sometimes I respond to questions with ‘I don’t know.’ But I promise to find the answers to all the important questions to the best of my ability.”

The President doesn't have to be infallible. But the President should be honest and aware.

“The United States is one nation among 195 on this planet. We all share this one world, with nowhere else to go. We must do all we can as a people to live in harmony with all other peoples.”

“The United State of America is an experiment in democracy. We haven’t figured everything out. We need to be open, we need to consider new ideas. We must also remember the good that brought us here. I am proud to be American. But I recognize we can also do much better, and should do much better, as a country."

The President should demonstrate a capacity for openness and holistic thinking.

“My job is to serve the will of the people, not a political party. I want to hear directly from you so I know what’s important to you. Meet me at next week’s town hall in...”

“Republicans and Democrats are made up of ordinary people. Neither side is evil. And we mostly want the same things. Let’s work together on those things, and have honest debate about the things we don’t agree on.”

The President should partner with the people; they should be the primary stakeholders.

“My job is to serve the people. I am your humble public servant. What would you have me do?"

Any President can say these things. We can demand it as citizens, as self-governors. Will we?

How to Vote

Rhetoric dominates elections. What did Trump just say? How did Kamala answer that question? Vance and Walz said what?

Yes, this matters. How a candidate speaks is important. A person whose words invoke hate and fear is not a good leader. Because the President is the country's primary spokesperson. They are the primary representative of 345 million people, the top diplomat to every other nation. How presidents communicate matters, how they see the world matters, and what they say matters.

And yet, rhetoric is not the best criterion for evaluating candidates.

For one, lies are nothing new to politics. Candidates have lied for the entirety of this country’s elections, starting with the very first one. Adams called Jefferson a coward, accused him of having an affair with one of his slaves, and claimed he would emancipate all slaves if elected. Jefferson decried Adams as a wannabe king and called him fat.

Sound familiar at all?

You might then ask, well, how do we choose presidential candidates if not by their rhetoric? One word: record.

The candidate’s record is the most important evaluation criterion. What have they actually done, what have they voted for in the past?

This is partly what made Trump such an outlier in 2016; we had never had a political candidate who had zero political, military, or governmental experience. There are only five other people who became president without previously holding an elected office:

• Zachary Taylor - career military officer

• Ulysses S. Grant - career military officer

• William Howard Taft - former lawyer, Secretary of War under Teddy Roosevelt

• Herbert Hoover - Secretary of Commerce under Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge

• Dwight D. Eisenhower - career military officer

Right or wrong, these five men had all previously worked within the government or the law, either directly in the military, or through a Secretary position. So they all had some political experience, even if it was minimal or merely by extension.

Trump truly had none. Of course, this doesn't mean that a person with zero experience is a bad fit for president. Nothing in the Constitution says you must have previously held an elected office. However, in 2016 at least, all voters could evaluate was Trump's rhetoric, because he had no record of political action.

Well, 8 years later, there's a lot more evidence to evaluate. And that’s where to start: with their record. Sit with it and determine whether you approve or agree. Did they sit out any important votes? How did they vote on the things you care about most? Did they always vote according to the party line, or did they display some courage by voting against their party in certain circumstances?

Once you have an understanding of their record, you can more reasonably know what to expect from them in office. It's unlikely a person would completely change their voting behavior, especially if they've been in politics for a long time. (Of course, if someone is in office for a long time, it's easier to see trends and how their opinions may have shifted over time, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. People should change their opinion if presented with new evidence.) Something else to note: it doesn't have to be a voting record. Trump has never 'voted' on anything within a legislative body of the United States government. However, you can look at the bills he vetoed versus the ones he signed. Same with any previous executive official—what they sign into law is evidence of their work as an elected official, and a strong indicator of what they may do if they get into office again.

You can then compare this record to the candidate's rhetoric. Does what they say on the campaign trail match what they've actually done in the past? If not, why could this be? This is where you have to make a judgement—do you think they've truly, fundamentally changed on an issue? Or are they just moving with the political winds of popularity, saying what they think voters want to hear, simply to get elected? Large divides between a candidate's words and actions are likely cause for concern.

This method of starting with record, then moving to rhetoric, is better than just relying on one or the other, or starting with the rhetoric itself. It enables you to start with the evidence, so you can hold a person’s words against said evidence. It grounds the rhetoric within reality. The bluster matters—it’s how a president represents us as a people. But bluster often correlates little with policy. Hold the rhetoric, and review the record.

The Question of Who to Vote for

A while back I wrote about the upcoming American Presidential election and how no one can foresee what will happen.

I’m surprised: I thought the rhetoric and attention toward the election would only increase. It might just be my limited news consumption, but the election seems to have faded from the front and center. I think people are tired. People want their lives to be better, and many are still struggling. And that’s the whole point of representative government: citizens elect trustworthy officials who serve them by focusing full-time on policy. Is it fair to say Americans are disillusioned with this system? I routinely hear, “Really? These are the two best people we’ve got to run the country? Does my vote even matter?” It matters—we have to push through. Voter fatigue and poor turnout are not only real, but understandable. People are tired of rhetoric--they want results.

Which is why it’s important to vote. We won’t get results without doing our due diligence, without acting on our responsibility as citizens in a democracy.

Electing a president is important. But electing our Congress is even more important. Why? We are a a nation of laws. Those who make and reform law are the ones in power. Think about it: there's only one group in the country that can make (federal) laws. No one else has this power. This same group of people is the only group who can change any existing law. This group is the 535 members of Congress. They can do things like:

• make laws

• declare war

• decide how federal money will be spent

The President can't do any of these things. The Constitution empowers Congress in more ways than the President. Thus we must maintain high standards when choosing our legislature, and, just as importantly, we must demand and direct Congress to act as we see fit. Sounds simple right? Simple, but not easy? We choose who shapes the law of the land. And we direct them to govern the way we want, to get the results we want. Almost all of us want the same things. This is doable. We just need to remember to act on our responsibilities as citizens.

Lessons from Harry Truman

What are the lessons I’ve learned from former U.S. President Harry S. Truman?

• Always act with integrity and do what's right

• Be honest - it makes life simpler

• Work as hard as you can to make an impact on the world

• Action matters, and we must move swiftly to act

These tenets are not reserved solely for elected officials, but can be employed by every American citizen. If we all strive to act like Harry Truman, we can build not just a better country, but a more just and and prosperous world.

Elections 76 Years Apart

In January 1948, nobody thought Harry Truman could win reelection. Almost every single poll counted him out, all the news media counted him out, even his political party counted him out. And yet through determination and a deep belief in what’s right, after touring nearly the entire country, he won.

This is not 1948. And obviously Joe Biden is not Harry Truman. It doesn’t appear a Truman candidate will emerge this election cycle. Most Americans seem unhappy with both major candidates. So what will we do? What will the great citizens of the United States demand of their representatives in 2024? How will we self-govern?

The power lies with us.

These Political Times

And it all changes again. I had a feeling something would happen while away and disconnected in Yosemite. Books will be written about this time in political history. And while everyone seems to have hot takes, the summer succession of the Presidential debate, the Trump assassination attempt, and now Biden's drop out of the election is unprecedented.

It seems like a long time until November, in which a lot can still happen. It's our responsibility as citizens of this country to continue to voice our opinions and to demand change and transparency from our representatives. Information is available to ordinary citizens as never before; the time is now to choose the direction of our country. Who do we want to lead us? Because that's truly our choice, not the Democratic or Republican parties.

We enjoy incredible rights and freedoms in this country. They come with responsibilities. Let's act on behalf of them.

Democracy Now

What happened at the Trump rally today is appalling. It makes one scared about their country.

I don’t even know how to react, still. I’m still processing. But I’ve realized that although I’ve never voted for Trump nor ever will, I’m glad he appears relatively unharmed.

We have a choice as a country. How we move forward through this election and in the immediate future will go a long way in determining the success of our country and our democracy.

Citizenship Now

It’s easy to succumb to reactionism today. Our phones, constantly attached to our bodies, feed us information continuously throughout the day. Thus presidential gaffes become quick news.

Reading this Truman biography during an election year was coincidence. But the contrasts between the Oval Office in 1950 and today could not be more jarring.

As citizens, it is our responsibility to govern ourselves and to direct our representatives. A phone call or letter can be the most effective way to make our opinions known, our voices heard. Facing the “choices” in November, now is the time for us to be proactive citizens, and to make our history.

Momentous Citizenship

Recovering from traveling and the time change, I read a lot of my Truman biography book at home today.

I can’t help but feel we are living in a momentous time period politically. That we must rise as citizens and actively guide our country toward our desired direction.

Most people in this country, and in the world at large, can agree on basic, just policy. We all want the same things: love, freedom, health, and opportunity. We can show this with our votes and our voices this year.

Will we rise?

Patriotic in Ponza

I’ve been reading a biography on Harry Truman and have felt more patriotic. I enjoyed the most atypical Independence Day here in Ponza, Italy: we rented a boat and cruised around the island, stopping for a swim amongst the towering rocks. There was no English spoken anywhere around us.

Yet for all the bliss experienced today, I also felt lingering background thoughts about my country. Truman faced perilous times at the close of World War II and immediately after; his immaculate character was necessary to keep the country afloat. It feels as though we are in similar dangerous times. There are multiple sinister wars abroad, the country’s economy feels precipitous, and the two candidates in our upcoming election seem completely inadequate.

It’s thus time for us ordinary Americans to be extraordinary citizens. To talk about domestic and foreign policy, to write to our representatives, and to of course vote. We must be the change we wish to see in our country and in the world. We can help lead the world toward peace, we can fix our economy so that all have a chance at a decent life, and we can nominate leaders of whom we are proud and confident. But it takes doing.

Two hundred forty eight years later, on America’s birthday, we need true patriotism. Are we willing to provide it?

Citizenship not Politics

I am removing the tag of ‘politics’ from my blog.

This blog is not about politics. It's about citizenship and how we can be the best citizens possible. Politics is about power and the machinations behind government; that's not what this blog is about. This blog is about empowering ordinary people to be strong citizens in their community.

What is citizenship? Citizenship is the public act of integrity within a larger community. Our species no longer lives in small tribes, we are no longer bands of 15, 50, 100 people. We live in nations of hundreds of million.

In order to successfully function as a society, we need proactive citizenship. We need to care about politics and influence politics. It is our privilege, it is our right, it is our responsibility and our duty to be strong, engaged, informed citizens to govern our society together. Through strong citizenship we create a society of equity, justice, openness and freedom.