Stuart’s Thoughts 9/4//2018

JSF Political Thoughts 2018

Preface:  
While politics is not one of my favorite areas to study, read about, talk about or even spend a great deal of time thinking about, interest has been expressed by some in my thoughts regarding the current political situation in the U.S., especially with regard to the very controversial 45th President of our country.  Some explanation for my lukewarm interest in politics might first be appropriate.  I grew up in the pre-internet era and even mostly in the pre-TV era when people got the news of the day either in the hometown, newspaper or on the radio during the daily, dinner hour, news reports from either Gabriel Heatter or Walter Winchell.  Reporting of the news in those days was concise with little editorial comment other than what could be found, by those few interested, on the news papers’ editorial pages.  That was vastly different from today’s 24 hour news cycles on TV and the various internet sources.  In my opinion, while the information available to us is infinitely greater, it has also given rise to intense competition between the various news outlets and has encouraged them to sensationalize and often exaggerate stories.  Following the news today often reminds me of just another “soap opera”.  However such strategies are enormously successful and would be sponsors pay large sums for the opportunity to reach millions of potential customers.  Often, the more outlandish or sensational the presentation, the more audience is attracted. Personally, I don’t like this “soap opera” characteristic of news nor do I appreciate the often mean-spirited, cantankerous tone of many reporters, thus, my lukewarm interest in politics. 

My current political thoughts are necessarily based on a lifetime of experience, although with only casual interest in politics.  Thus, this is an attempt to place current events appropriately within this rather hazy and questionable backdrop.  Donald Trump is undoubtedly at the center of most political discussion and controversy today.  He is loved by some and hated by others.  It seems that relatively few people have more neutral thoughts about him. Interestingly, it  appears to be possible for some people to segment their thoughts of him in ways that may be appropriate for them in forming an overall opinion.  For example, I can understand how this might develop along the lines of a quote I recently heard (I don’t recall the source) “I don’t like anything Trump says but I do like much of what he has done as President”.  Another person commented that they don’t like his personality or style but do like much of what he has accomplished. While no one may care one way or the other but, for what it’s worth, I basically agree with these thoughts.  As a person, I find Donald Trump crude, belligerent, unrefined, frankly disgusting in many ways and certainly not the kind of person I would have anything in common with or any desire to associate with. Naturally, that’s easy to say because I don’t think I’ll ever be asked to make that decision.  However, in one sense, Donald Trump could be serving a useful purpose at this point in time.  In the opinion of many, the Washington establishment had become too entrenched, too arrogant and frankly essentially useless.  Many thought that it might be the right time for a non-politician, i.e. an outsider, to upset the “golden applecart” of the Washington establishment. Now admittedly,  It would have been preferable if the outsider had been more like you or me and more compassionate and personally likable.  But that was not the case so, like it or not, what we got was President Donald J. Trump.
Case in point: The reaction of the political establishment following the election was totally shameful and, to my mind, as bad or worse than the negative aspects of the new President.  The Democrats from the day he was elected pledged openly to resist the new President in every way possible.  Far left hooligans rioted, breaking store windows and terrorizing the city in the wake of his inauguration parade.  The Democrats did everything in their power to prevent or delay the new President’s attempts to form his cabinet and fill other key posts in his administration. They have totally stone-walled congress, in spite of the fact that congress was largely a “do nothing” elitist social club.  Nevertheless, the Democrats pledged to not take part in any new legislative activities proposed by the President, even in ares such as immigration reform and amnesty for as many as 2 million illegal immigrants which they, themselves, desired.   Everything to be accomplished by the new administration would have to occur with only lukewarm Republican support or via Executive Order.  The Democrat game plan has been to damage Trump, and hopefully get rid of him at all cost, even if it means doing harm to our nation in the process.  This I find very troubling and unlikely to yield anything beneficial in the long run.
The two essential pillars in the foundation of our democracy, as described somewhere(?), are the peaceful transition of government following an election and the rule of law.  We have traditionally seen the losing side congratulate a new President and pledge their support while maintaining their right for descent as the loyal opposition.  I don’t recall there being any of this following the 2016 election.  To the contrary, we have seen the exact opposite.  In my opinion, any new administration deserves the best wishes of the country and support where it is warranted.  I think the office of the President deserves respect and the occupant of that office, as the free choice of the people, recognized and respected, for at least a short time, the so called “honeymoon period”.  I recognize that the belligerent,  obnoxious, personality of this man undoubtedly made this difficult but it seems to me it would be better for the rest of us to stay above this negativity.  Rather than descending into the gutter as much of the defeated establishment did almost as a reflex, i.e., politicians of both parties and much of the Washington based news media, I think it would have been preferable for our nation to at least try for a more positive influence and outcome.  As parents, many of us have learned that the best way to modify the behavior of an unruly child is to ignore bad behavior by giving it no attention while praising desired behavior.  Maybe the same would work in the case of an unruly President.
Even if you have to grit your teeth, you have to admit that there have been a number of positive accomplishment that arguably deserve some degree of positive praise. It seems to me that the remarkable recovery of a sluggish economy can’t be ignored.  The trillions of dollars coming into the economy as a result of a doubling of our GDP and the drastic reduction in unemployment has benefited millions. The President’s influence in convincing a number of companies to return to U.S. soil has resulted in thousands of jobs for U.S. workers.  It’s impossible to separate economic wellbeing and full employment from the fact that many are now achieving a significantly higher quality of life.  While there is plenty of room for even more progress, we should recognize that individuals in the lowest economic levels in the U.S. are  better off than s at higher economic levels in many other countries.  The U.S. continues to stand out in the world as the “Land of Opportunity”.  It seems to me that that’s why so many millions want to come here from nearly everywhere else in the world.
On a personal note I was supportive of the new income tax plan even though my taxes will actually increase (due to the loss of the deduction for the large CT real estate tax).  My thought was that, on balance, the new tax plan would be beneficial to many, especially those at lower income levels.  High quality of life is certainly more fundamentally important than economic success but without a successful economy with plenty of jobs, harmonious existence and a high quality of life are unlikely to occur.  I’ve always believed the most important feature of any society is the opportunity and possibility for everyone to achieve his maximum level of personal actualization, i.e., to become the best that he can be.  Speaking of equality, there will never be absolute equality because each individual has his or her own maximal level of self actualization and when that is achieved, satisfaction and happiness occurs.
Looking more closely at the concept of equality, I think we need to be careful when we say we desire equality for all.  We need to specify the nature of the equality desired.  In my opinion, there should definitely be equality of opportunity for all, and, although completely achieving such equality is not easy, our country is making great strides in that area.  For years there are those who have been seeking a system that would provide equality of outcome, i.e., all citizens would have equal resources and possessions.  It is likewise my opinion that equal outcome is unlikely to be possible and, in fact, may not be as desirable as some might think.  The Utopian Community experience in the U.S. was well as most Communist and/or far left Socialist experiences have ultimately failed largely for one main reason.  Community or common ownership is not comparable with human nature.  When everyone in a society is guaranteed an equal share of the common wealth, incentive for hard work, innovation, creativity and exceptional effort vanish.  In one sense, it can be said that inequality is beneficial to a society.  It is the driving force providing the incentive for achieving excellence. Perhaps the clearest example of this notion is to consider the school classroom situation where the competition for achieving good grades is the incentive for studying and putting in the hours and effort to achieve a desirable grade and, by the way, the resulting increased knowledge,  In one of many experimental  exercises, a class was informed by their teacher that all test scores would be combined and averaged so that everyone would receive the same grade.  The result should have been predictable.  Little effort or time was spent studying by most students and test grades were sub-standard.  Several such an experiments have actually been reported and, as you might guess, made for a very unhappy kids.
I believe the success of the U.S. economic system suggests that the correct blend of socialism and capitalism may be hard to beat.  While many in this country would say they dislike socialism and prefer a free capitalistic economy, we should realize that we do not have a pure system but rather one that combines various aspects of socialism and capitalism.  Our system of highways, public parks, social security, our military and police departments are all commonly owned by all citizens.  These important socialist components are seamlessly interwoven in our predominantly capitalistic society.  Capitalism provides the driving force.  It is the engine that does the work.  It is the creative driver of ingenuity, entrepreneurship, creativity and  in my view an essential component, if not the heart, of any viable society.  This hybrid system seems to be working quite well for our country.  Thus, when one speaks of socialism, some degree of socialism along with that dynamic engine of capitalism is in my opinion,  the right recipe for our hybrid socioeconomic system and perhaps, might eventually prove best for much of the world.