—-Michael Stark
I am not a fan of Donald Trump’s leadership of our country. I feel that he surrounds himself with the wrong people and has forgotten that the ends do not always forgive the means. I have learned through these past few years just how important it is for a president to be surrounded by intelligent, educated humanitarians and what can happen when the wrong people have the President's ear.
I am thankful that I live in a country where peaceful protest is acceptable, and freedom of the press is still part of what makes us strong. Our country was formed on a system of checks and balances, and although that seems to be a bit off kilter, I truly believe that we will find our balance again.
What is troubling me now is the deep disrespect we are showing to the office of the presidency. every time we present the President as a fool, we are showing the world that our country ridicules those who we elect. I remember, many years ago, a conversation between my two elementary school age children. Mike had apparently overheard Beth speaking harshly about Art and me to her friend. He explained to her that no matter what, family sticks together. “You can say bad things about any of us to any other of us Beth, but we never tell other people nasty things about our family.”
When we fixate on toilet paper stuck to a shoe or hair blowing in the wind, we are giving others permission to join us in ridiculing the leader of our country. When we broadcast to the world each time we feel he is derelict in his duties, we alert our enemies to his weaknesses. When we condemn his wife for the clothing she wears we are focusing on what is outside rather than what might be inside.
We need to realize how lucky we are to live in a country where “we the people” elect our leaders and do everything in our collective powers to protect that process. If we believe that our democracy is being threatened than it is okay to speak out, even as we remember that both sides might see a different threat to our democracy. It is always okay to debate with each other, and our elected officials, in our search for the truth, but we must always keep in mind the importance of respecting the institution of the presidency. We gain nothing productive when we shine a light on the President’s foibles...better to highlight the policies that are harmful than display a man’s missteps or wrongly spoken words when that man is representing our country. I believe we are better than that and must show the world that the United States of America is NEVER a place to laugh at, and in the end we will always stand as one.
Laughing is a good thing though, and one of my favorite authors, David Rosenfelt, wrote yet another book that tickled my funny-bone. Dachshund Through the Snow will be in bookstores in a few weeks, and I promise that hero Andy Carpenter will give you a few chuckles.
As always a complete review of this book follows my blog.
Happy reading,
- Beverly