Conversations are raging in these tumultuous times, and I have been weighing whether to publicly participate. I decided that it’s important for every single one of us to weigh in and publicly take a stance. I’m adding my voice to the roar, fully knowing that it is but a drop in the bucket, but also knowing that many drops eventually fill the bucket.
I turn 39 this year. I’ve served in the U.S. Coast Guard, and I’m a Marine Corps combat veteran. I’m a father, a carpenter and a nursing student. I’ve lived a little. I have been in leadership positions, and I’ve served under many different leaders. I have received hours of formal leadership training, and I have exercised leadership in real-world applications.
Here are some things I know:
A leader is professional, always aware of the weight of their words.
A leader is respectful, enacting the behaviors they would expect of the led.
A leader speaks rationally, especially when addressing opposition. This shows that the leader thinks objectively and not emotionally.
A leader inspires trust. This requires truthfulness and transparency.
A leader owns mistakes, admitting wrongdoing and displaying grace and wisdom in the aftermath of a mistake.
A leader doesn’t rely on positional authority. If citing your title is necessary to compel people to follow you, then you are failing as a leader. People should follow you because you actively demonstrate fitness for your position.
A leader adheres to the basic rules of societal conduct, living the tenets they have been chosen to uphold.
This is why I did not vote for Donald Trump the first time, and why I will not vote for him this year. He is none of these things.
He is unprofessional, behaving in ways that I actively discourage in my elementary school-aged children. Stooping to create offensive nicknames and hurling schoolyard insults, he displays pettiness on a daily basis. His words flow carelessly, indicating zero grasp on their potential impact. He lies on a daily basis. They are documented, and they number in the thousands. He bragged on the record about using his status to sexually assault women.
Trump represents the worst in us. He’s a bully and a pathological liar. His ego knows no bounds. He is a misogynist. He adheres to no discernable moral code. He has repeatedly denied actions recorded on video.
In every way he behaves in a manner that no one — neither liberal nor conservative, Democrat nor Republican — would tolerate in a personal or professional relationship. Nothing about Trump is congruent with the basic leadership principles I was taught as a U.S. Marine.
Take a moment to reflect on his slogan: Make America Great Again. The big question I have for Trump and his supporters is this: To which era in America’s history do you want to return? When you could be beaten to death by the cops for being gay? When women couldn’t vote? When people of color had to use different facilities than whites? When was this magical time that was so great? Should we ask the Native Americans when America was “great?” Should we ask Rosa Parks?
I love America, but I don’t need to pretend things have always been perfect. This land was gained in the wake of mass genocide of the people who already lived here. Our economy was built on slavery. We denied women the right to vote for 144 years. We may have come a long way as a country, but we still have far to go.
Let’s reject any platform that calls for a return to the past. I no more wish to drag America back in time than I wish to delete the wisdom from my own brain that I have gained from my years lived. Let’s make America great. Drop the “again” part.
John White of Bangor is a Marine Corps and Coast Guard veteran, carpenter and nursing student.