Upsides of the New Presidency

By Jeffrey M. Bowen

Whether you agree or disagree with President Trump’s policies and pronouncements, when individual issues are filtered out and we compare the status quo with what we felt and thought about national politics just a year or two ago, a surprising number of upsides emerges.  Our observations and reactions have changed significantly, and often positively.  In some instances, realizing this has come from quiet reflection, but in other instances the results have been hashed out at the breakfast table or after watching the evening news.  The terms right or wrong are far less relevant than how much we have learned.  Here is a checklist that could start your own discussion.  

ü  Never before have we so vigorously and continuously discussed national politics while pondering future policies and practices. 

ü  We understand a lot more about the electoral process and how elections are won and lost.

ü  We understand more about constitutional and legal issues as well as litigation and court precedents.

ü  We have learned a great deal about the underlying social, economic, and political currents that have brought us to this juncture.

ü  All this has helped us focus more clearly on our country’s values and priorities -- and our own.  No longer do we take so many of our blessings or curses for granted.

ü  We are much more aware of the strategies and challenges of public communication and how these either thwart or promote political advocacy

ü  We have gained a greater appreciation of what the rest of the world thinks of us and why.

ü  We have learned a frustrating lesson about the disingenuousness of public officials and their willingness to put political party allegiance ahead of personal integrity, individual character, public accountability, and the great benefits of collaboration.

ü  We have discovered that our disadvantaged populations depend to a much greater extent than we ever realized on government programs and money to help them survive, and, by the same token, how that dependence may  either encourage or undermine individual initiative and self-responsibility.

ü  We have been amazed at the extent to which people stubbornly ignore or invent facts and numbers to rationalize their biases.

ü  We have seen anew the risks, rewards, or liabilities of a leadership style that runs quite contrary to advice usually given by gurus of organizational development.

ü  We have rediscovered the vital importance of forgiveness, compassion, and kindness with regard to our own citizenry as well as those who are suffering from stress or violence elsewhere in the world.