The Public Trust

            What I enjoy the most about reading Presidential biographies is the glimpse it provides into the lives of truly great people.  The United States has been an exceptional country from the moment of our inception in 1788.  The leaders of this country have been proud examples of hardworking, considerate, and intelligent individuals to match this exceptionalism.  On top of the hard powers of the office, the President also has incredible influence on the national mood and predominate values of the country.  Even in tiny ways, JFK was the first President to not wear a hat to his inauguration, and after, the national style for men lost the hat.  FDR said the office is “pre-eminently a place of moral leadership”, and when those holders do not live up to the moral responsibility, it tends to degrade the entire nation.  Unfortunately, this piece is about three Presidents who have had the most major influences on the modern Republican party and the ways they have damaged our nation.

         In chronological order, I will start with Ronald Reagan.  While there is plenty to unpack on his disastrous monetary, social, and international programs, his greatest blow to our mood came on August 12, 1986.  While standing at a podium during a Presidential News Conference, Reagan boiled down what would become the grievance position for Republican officials to take: “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the Government, and I'm here to help.”  This was a perfect encapsulation of his entire position as President, the highest government official in the land.  The government can do no right, it has always been the problem, and it always will be.  This transformed the way the Republican Party chose to engage in politics, and 37 years later, it endures.  The Republican playbook has been cut government spending, lament how programs do not work (due to lack of funds), and use that as a reason to cut the spending even more.  When there is a proposition for a government program to address a specific need, they turn up their nose and cross their fingers private entities will solve the issue.  This technique has been seen in the departments of Education, Interior, and State, Social Security, the Post Office, Medicare and Medicaid, and so many others.  More saliently, it has also affected the attitudes of their voters.  According to Pew Research, only 7% of Republicans trust in government.  This attitude leads to mistrust in institutions, and the destruction of our society. 

         Next, George W. Bush.  I first cut my political teeth on the disastrous invasion of Iraq under false pretenses.  But during the 2000 election, a different methodology of examining a Presidential candidate came into the public discourse: the “beer question”.  This was essentially a joke that stood in as a proxy for which candidate the average person would find more enjoyable and friendly.  A poll that was actually run by Samuel Adams found respondents would “generally prefer” to have a beer with Bush rather than his opponent, Al Gore.  While this started out as a joke, the Bush team ran with it, eventually becoming conservative canon.  The effect this has had on the voters has been enormously destructive.  Many voters now primarily choose based on whether or not they like the candidate, rather than whether they are the best for the position.  Candidate likability has always been considered by voters, but it has become far too important in the average voter’s mind, and most acutely, in Republican primaries.  What matters to the hardcore conservative voter is not whether they can deliver to their constituents, but what team they’re on and how they “own the libs”, like a true friend.

         And finally, Donald J. Trump.  I am not sure any rational person would argue Trump as President did not harm the average voter’s view on government and society.  His selfishness, pettiness, transactional world view, and devil-may-care attitude towards norms and traditions has left a lasting scar on the American psyche.  However, I believe his most lasting impact on America has been his normalization of cruelty.  From Jeff Sessions’ position on taking children from their parents to Ron Johnson dismissing the concern for your fellow citizens to get vaccinated, Adam Serwer of The Atlantic stated “the cruelty is the point”.  Never has a zero-sum-game mentality been so ingrained into a political party in the United States.  Helping any person, any country, is not worth the time because it would somehow take away from us.  The modern conservative movement is about selfish individuals who cannot abide a changing world or any challenge to their beliefs.  Abortion rights, gay rights, book bans, school curriculum, trans people, fighting for democracy or equality, nothing can be done about these issues because they aren’t first in every line.  Every single step towards improvement is a personal attack on their lifestyle and must be met with maximum force.  All these characteristics were enabled and crystalized with the election of Donald Trump as the highest representative of the United States.  His election showed this voting bloc these behaviors were not only acceptable, but they led to success and therefore must be emulated.  The most vocal political leaders of today have embraced this mindset and encouraged their voters to act accordingly, it’s not about moving forward, it’s about revenge and punishment against your enemies. 

         The most recent Presidential biography I read was about Herbert Hoover.  While his impact on the country has been completely subsumed by the Great Depression, somewhat unfairly, a quote stood out to me.  Warren G. Harding had died in office, leading to the ascendency of Calvin Coolidge, in which Hoover served both cabinets.  Over the next year, investigations led to uncover several corruption cases in what would be known as the Teapot Dome Scandal.  This led to Harding’s planned memorial going unrecognized for several years.  After Hoover ascended to the office, he dedicated the memorial in 1931 and gave a passionate speech about his friend.  While kind, he did not shy away from criticism and perfectly encapsulated what I have taken so many words here to say:

         There are disloyalties and there are crimes which shock our sensibilities, which may bring suffering upon those who are touched by their immediate results. But there is no disloyalty and no crime in all the category of human weaknesses which compares with the failure of probity in the conduct of public trust. Monetary loss or even the shock to moral sensibilities is perhaps a passing thing, but the breaking down of the faith of a people in the honesty of their Government and in the integrity of their institutions, the lowering of respect for the standards of honor which prevail in high places, are crimes for which punishment can never atone.

 

Well said, President Hoover. Well said.

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