It is time to “turn the ship around” for the good ship United States of America. What role will you play in the crew? Will you take responsibility?
As I write this on the morning (USA time) on Thursday November 5th, the final result of the Presidential election is still on a knife-edge. One thing though is already absolutely clear, the US is deeply divided and, to highlight one element that deeply depresses me, has roughly half of those who voted voting AGAINST this statement:
all…are created equal
As you all know, this is from the absolute key line from the United States Declaration of Independence.
In Donald Trump’s mind and in his USA, things are different.
All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others
From “Animal Farm” by George Orwell
In Trump’s world, people like me (Male, White, Straight, English-speaking) are “more equal”. He is clearly, unabashedly, a racist, a misogynist, a homophobe, a xenophobe.
In Trump’s world, people of colour (in particular), women, LGBTQ, non-english speakers, those of faiths other than Christianity, all have less value and deserve less in his eyes, they are not equal.
My core value is FAIR, so it deeply depresses me to see that nearly half of the votes cast were for Trump, in the full knowledge that, acting in what they perceive as their self-interest, all of those voters chose to endorse his vision of an unequal and unfair society.
An institution can be defined as an organisation committed to a purpose. This is how Americans see the USA, the Declaration of Independence, their Constitution. When half of the country vote for Trump not once but twice, the institution called the USA has therefore, in my view, become rotten to the core.
Depressing, but I am a positive person, I always see opportunities in each challenge. So what do to?
Let me give you a few thoughts, all anchored on taking responsibility at an individual level then acting collectively.
Let me begin with the full wording of the second paragraph of the United States Declaration of Independence:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,–That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.
In context and of the time, their reference was to “throwing off” being ruled by their colonial masters, the United Kingdom.
As we stand now, and for several decades, this outside observer sees a system that is broken. More than that though, the “pursuit of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” has become corrupted. Surely this must be so, when so many vote for Trump at the cost of so many of their fellow citizens rights to equally pursue such ends for themselves?
So, what to do?
The first step is awareness that we all, as individuals, have freedom to act, from a vote for President at one level, down to every single action we make, words we speak.
We do not have to excuse racism or any other form of intolerance. There is no justification, to me, for any “whattaboutery”, such as “yes, he is a nasty narcissistic racist, but he has done good things for black people”, or “yes, black lives matter, but so do white lives”. Sigh.
After this, the next step is about leadership.
I’m tired even thinking about the state of the USA, so let me bring this down to a simple concept.
Imagine you are in the US Navy and captain a nuclear submarine. You realise that everyone on the ship follows you blindly, no matter what instructions you issue. You are new to the ship and you don’t know exactly how this type of nuclear submarine operates, so at one point you give an order that cannot be executed, yet nobody speaks up.
You realise something has to change. Over time, you choose to stop giving all but the absolute most critical orders. Instead, you create a culture where everyone is responsible for the whole ship, everyone is empowered.
On this ship, any crew members may give the order, if they feel it is necessary, to “turn the ship around!”.
It is time to “turn the ship around” for the good ship United States of America. What role will you play in the crew? Will you take responsibility, empower yourself, give the orders that are needed?
Please watch this ten minute animated talk from Captain (rtd) David Marquet of the USS Santa Fé. I promise you will be inspired by the possibilities for what you can do, what all Americans can do individually and then collectively.