Over the last few days, the ability of the President to command the moral authority and conscience of America has been put into question. The backlash that has come from the mainstream media, including Fox News and Republican and Democrat politicians alike, over President Trump’s wild, unplanned press conference has caused Trump’s defenders to back into a corner. Rather than make “what-about” arguments regarding Antifa, here’s one fact Americans need to accept if we’ll ever truly unite:
It is an impossible task for one man, even as President and especially a president as flawed as Donald Trump, to ever wave a magic wand and heal all wounds.
A very frustrated Charles Krauthammer called Trump’s inaction a moral disgrace. Gianno Caldwell appeared on Fox and Friends, and through tears pleaded that the President “literally betrayed the conscience of our country” and that anyone defending Trump has “the potential to be morally bankrupt.”
Spme could say these reactions are over the top, especially considering that by September, we’ll be talking about another tweet of a different subject — possibly another Russian smoking gun, possibly increasing tensions with North Korea.
I personally consider Trump’s comments in the Access Hollywood tapes more morally disturbing than pointing out the actual fact that there was violence on both sides in Charlottesville, Va.
Let’s get back to the idea though, that some prominent and visible Americans feel the President no longer has any mandate to lecture hate groups about their evil ways. When Trump ran for president, Americans had a choice to make: okie-doke, gladhand politics as usual or a new, more brutally honest, in your face brand that Trump provided.
Elections do indeed have consequences and we elected a 71-year-old real estate developer and reality TV star. Common sense dictates that he will not drastically change overnight just because of his new role. Instead, we as patriotic, diverse, and welcoming Americans have to be the change we wish to see, not Donald Trump; I hope this becomes be a huge lesson that the country can learn during this tumultuous presidency.
The President is not infallible; we’ve had 44 men, all with different character flaws, take the Oath of Office. Yes, there have been those TV moments — the Challenger, Oklahoma City, 9/11, Sandy Hook — where the President says certain words that stand out throughout history.
In times of crisis, some like to harken back to previous eras, the ones where we were more neighborly, like the societies you watch on TV Land in black-and-white. There’s still potential for that attitude today, however; one great example is the candlelit memorial at the University of Virginia, which stayed off of social media, was privately organized, and came together peacefully.
If college students, the young generation, didn’t need a Gettysburg address to pray and sing together then I’m confident all Americans, of all stripes and creeds, have the ability to reach out and be the change they want to see — without direction from a president.
