Relief Bill - Authoritarianism in Action: They missed a big opportunity on Meet the Press this morning when discussion of the relief bill came up. Trump’s Chief of Staff said the President has a 1.3 trillion-dollar package that the Democrats are keeping from the American people by not agreeing to Trump's terms.
What is really happening is that Trump is unwilling to negotiate with the Democrats in any way. This is the leadership model he uses and will use for the next four years if re-elected. No negotiation, no listening; his terms his way. It is a clear expression of authoritarianism, which can, in the right clothing, with the right clean up, look like good, strong leadership - but this is misleading.Good leadership brings all the pieces to the table and puts together a solution that works for everyone – A win-win or at least an attempt at it in the best form possible. Donald Trump offers no such solutions for the American people. He offers his solutions and his only will he accept, even if he says otherwise. This is the discussion that needs to be held publicly. The one around Donald’s leadership style. Authoritarianism versus leadership. What the vision of our founding fathers was for presidency in the United States and how has this developed over the years leading to the ability and ease with which the current administration continues to subvert this role? For an interesting article discussion on the historical development of the presidency check this Washington Post Article interview with Ray Raphael who wrote “Mr. President: How and Why the Founders Created a Chief Executive” Here is another good piece on the Presidency from US History.org. *
Corona Virus - Leadership skills: the American public needs to understand that Donald’s leadership (or lack of it) on this one event is not the issue. What is being revealed here is Donald’s lack of leadership skills across the board. Because he cannot negotiate, listen to or compromise on anything that involves communication with those who do not agree with his views, he cannot provide leadership here. The leader of a free country voted into office and governing a diverse population needs the ability to delegate and use the skill and expertise of the people on his team for the good of all the people in times of crisis as well as times of calm. It is a learned, embedded skill. Instead, Donald spent months (of precious activation time) trying to wrap his head around medical matters so that he could appear to be expert in them. Rather than acknowledging a problem and turning to experts to provide swift solutions he doubted the voices around him and spent precious time trying to bring himself up to speed in an area where he had no real knowledge because he wanted to be the one to appear knowledgeable and hold the limelight at the microphone and have the people hail him as an expert and a hero. (Good and honest managers attract and retain good responsible honest people around them and then let them do their jobs.) His lack of knowing and sensing what was the true issue, lack of ability to listen to chosen experts and lack of ability to coordinate his team and to inspire and bring people together are lack of true leadership skills seen in every area of his administration. The corona virus just hit us all at once instead of in little pockets of areas one at a time as do his other actions and decrees that take away benefits and freedoms from the people. Here, with Covid 19, his lack of leadership skills is more evident because it is widespread and single-pointed in time.
This conversation needs to be held with the American people. What are true leadership skills and how will they benefit us as a country? Someone who retreats from a crisis and does not believe what experienced experts are reporting and then replaces them all to match his personal beliefs is a person who does not have the skills to guide a nation through any crisis except perhaps for one where he can put his finger on the button and order his troops to war. Leadership skills need to be discussed. Authoritarianism versus Democratic. People need information to begin to re-assess their own perspectives and we need to consistently repeat and repeat the information over and over and over…. No one has called this behavior out consistently in this repetitive manner. Let’s get on it right away. There are two months left. We have already seen the efficacy of Donald’s repetition of whatever he wants his base to believe. It works. So let’s use this one successful tactic he has given us from his own arsenal and go for it. Keep repeating ideas and skills to your friends and family. Don't talk Trump, talk leadership skills. Talk the ideology of authoritarianism versus democratic leadership. Ask people what they want the most. Fast relief from pain (authoritarian action) or a cure for the illness (democratic process)?
The Rule of Law – Rescue or Repression? The Thin Blue Line, the Law and Order issue:
Again – this sits well within an authoritarian
style of government. What you cannot control you suppress, repress and destroy.
Every dictatorship on earth has done just that. The solution to problems of
racial inequity will not be solved by restoring law and order through
suppression of the many voices of American citizens being expressed through
civil protest. There is no question Donald Trump wants to outlaw protest. We need to explore motivation honestly here. Everything he does is pulled together within the thread of establishing an authoritarian regime. {Violence is an issue and part of this plan to move us toward a "friendly dictatorship" form of government – and that just erupted again when Trump
support protesters interacted with social justice protesters. Social justice
people died at the hands of Trump supporters. This is a violent administration that wants to use images of military dominance to support it - check the pictures and then look at Hitler's rally images} Use of the ideology of Law and Order
further puts the country in danger due to escalating the confrontational
elements between law enforcement and freedom of expression and putting the police on
the line as enforcers rather than protectors. The answers lie in the leadership
qualities and skills that Donald Trump does not possess nor does he fill any
part of his government with people who have those qualities to stand in for him.
The Law and Order mis-ideology needs to be discussed, dissected and explored
in public conversation. Peace is not restored through law and order. Peace is restored through addressing the issues.
Donald has not acknowledged the validity of the issues raised by protesters nor promised to
address any of their concerns or needs or expressed any honest condolences
over the killings of black people and racial inequities in the country. Not
acknowledging issues that he is not prepared to handle (anything that opposes
his views) is another authoritarian leadership trait exhibited by Donald Trump.
What does that say about the leadership currently installed in the White House
and its ability to lead all the people of this country, not just its own base
and those who agree with Donald's agenda? The job of a president is to bring us together; those who agree and those who
disagree with whomever is voted into office, and take care of the entire
country. This is supposed to be a democracy - a free and open society with self-rule, not the rule of someone's version of "law and order." This concept needs to be discussed and explored in public conversation. We must make space for one another, not repress and deny one another. All must be heard - all - on both sides, and all views must be discussed and dialogued together - all views. Once we are all heard we are not divided. We may disagree, but we are not divided. Humans have a basic ability to hear and understand one another. This builds trust and a strong country where we can act together in spite of our differences. That is role of leadership.
Basically, we need to spend time taking apart the issues to have a discussion around the leadership qualities and traits we may be looking at living with
for the next four years. Exposing authoritarianism and the lack of true
leadership and management skills that have dominated both Trump’s presidency
and businesses and are changing the face of democracy in this country is an
important conversation. Donald Trump’s changeability and inconsistency needs to
be re-visited. His constant shedding of advisors and changing of leadership
positions must be continually re-highlighted. The issue of how quickly someone falls out of favor and is
terminated has created gaps in our leadership at very fundamental levels. The
fact that so many of this administration's former leadership team members have expressed
dissatisfaction with what they are seeing happen in the White House needs to be remembered verbally and re-visited and talked about consistently as we face the future together. The lack of stability
all of this creates which has led to the inability to muster forces in the face
of a national health crisis, or any crisis is the danger – not specific
issues over which we can argue but conversation around exploring the leadership qualities that have governed in the last four years and the ones that we will choose to govern us for the next four years. Are they truly authoritarian? What does that mean to different segments of our population and what do the terms democracy and authority really embrace? What is healthy authority and what is not? What is a healthy democracy and what is not? Why are we drawn to what we are drawn to and how will our inclinations expressed in our votes make our country truly strong from the inside as a whole, a true leader in a free world that honors the dignity and human rights of all people? Let's take a closer look and remember we are all eating at the same table.
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* AUTHOR |
ushistory.org |
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TITLE OF PAGE |
The Evolution of the Presidency |
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TITLE OF PROGRAM |
American Government Online Textbook |
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URL OF PAGE |
//www.ushistory.org/gov/7a.asp |
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DATE OF ACCESS |
Sunday, August 30, 2020 |
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COPYRIGHT |
2020 |
