What does it portend when the president-elect does not put his hand on the Bible when he recites: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States”?
Are you a follower of the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount?
I am.
My guess is that majority of us are. No matter our religious upbringing, we still follow and believe in the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew, chapters 5, 6, and 7.
But for me, saying his name in conjunction
with “President” upsets my stomach because his actions have proven to me that
he is unworthy of the title and the honor of the position.
Many years ago, one of my closest friends observed that my attention was not focused on my business and I was letting important things fall to the side while I concentrated on just one client’s dream. That, in fact, was true. While concentrating on helping another person reach his goal I was losing sight of my own. It was wise counsel then as it is for all of us today.
Unfortunately, the game is much bigger for us, though. Back then I stood to lose my life-long business and my retirement savings.
Today, we stand to lose not only our nation but our lives, too.
As each day dawns, the person occupying the White House Oval Office appears more unhinged. Like a scary Stephen King novel, the plot thickens more and more with each passing hour as unbelievably he somehow manages to bumble from one self-induced crisis to the next, tossing scapegoats under the nearest bus in poorly veiled attempts to misdirect attention from his own ineptitude, malfeasance and misfeasance.
Insanity reigns in the Oval Office. God help us all.
Putting the mental health of the President of the United States aside (for a moment, at least), where should we be directing attention?
In a recent article, Dr. Andrew Bacevich* underscored a few of the most important issues which our media, our politicians and our president should be addressing.
“Let me suggest that any one of these two dozen issues -- none seriously covered, discussed, or debated in the American media or in the political mainstream -- bears more directly on the well being of the United States and our prospects for avoiding global conflict than anything Donald Trump may have said or done during his first 100 days as president. Collectively, they define the core of the national security challenges that presently confront this country, even as they languish on the periphery of American politics.”
“How much damage Donald Trump’s presidency wreaks before it ends remains to be seen. Yet he himself is a transient phenomenon. To allow his pratfalls and shenanigans to divert attention from matters sure to persist when he finally departs the stage is to make a grievous error. It may well be that, as the Times insists, the truth is now more important than ever. If so, finding the truth requires looking in the right places and asking the right questions.” **
*Dr. Andrew J. Bacevich, Sr. is Professor Emeritus of International Relations and History at the Boston University Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies. He is a retired career officer in the Armor Branch of the United States Army, retiring with the rank of Colonel. He is a former director of Boston University's Center for International Relations (from 1998 to 2005), now part of the Pardee School of Global Studies.
