President Trump’s Fourteen Points
Will the 45th President of the United States live up to the commitments he has made to the American people?
November 12, 2016
Exit polls indicate that only 37 percent of voters thought President-elect Donald Trump “qualified to be president.” Only 34 percent, said he had “the right personality and temperament for the office.”
In many states, voters simply refused to choose between Hillary Clinton and Trump. In Michigan, for example, some 90,000 voted but refused to make any choice at all for President.
Honor bound to salute
As was the case for Al Gore in the 2000 election against George W. Bush, Clinton had the support of more voters than her opponent.
Nevertheless, under our constitution, Trump will soon take the oath of office as President of the United States of America.
We as citizens will be honor bound to salute the new president’s rank, despite all his failings as a man. Both President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have already done so, with grace and style, as was their duty.
That said, saluting Trump’s new rank does not mean one must ignore the man or condone his behavior, either as president or as a private citizen.
Do our best to do our duty
Under our own Uniform Code of Military Justice troops who must literally salute rank are also honor bound to refuse to obey orders that are illegal.
They are also morally bound to do everything in their power to see that such orders are not executed by other, more willing, executioners. Indeed, we as a people honor those with the courage to do so: hence the medals awarded to those soldiers who testified against platoon leader Lt. William C. to deliver at least a measure of justice to the victims of the massacre at My Lai during the Vietnam War.
The same standards hold true for ordinary citizens, civilians, in a democracy.
As every Boy Scout swears, we must indeed “do our best to do our duty.” But, as we learned at Nuremberg and in Vietnam, only up to a point.
Policies for the greater good
What, then, is the honorable thing to do until the new president actually does something illegal or immoral (or is found guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors committed before he became president)?
What policies or actions promoted by President-elect Trump can we all agree on and support for the greater good of our country?
The following 14 points, all given voice and supported by Trump at some point during his mean-spirited campaign, would seem to form a basis for moving the country forward in a positive and bipartisan spirit.
1. A massive initiative to rebuild/improve/repair our infrastructure. (October 2016)
2. Improve the military but reduce the defense budget. (October 2015)
3. Accept gay marriage. (August 2015)
4. Agree that Stop-&-frisk is unconstitutional. (September 2016)
5. Support paid family leave. (September 2016)
6. Serve as an honest broker and negotiate a lasting treaty of peace between Israel and her enemies. (February 2016)
7. Condemn Russian & any other country’s involvement in our elections. (October 2016)
8. Promote maximum representation and maximum voter participation. (Apr 2016)
9. Educate the public on value of comprehensive vaccinations. (October 2016)
10. Institute some form of universal health care. (July 2000)
11. Fix veteran’s hospitals, and pay private doctors to treat vets in the meantime. (September 2015)
12. Raise minimum wages, nationally and in the states. (May 2016)
13. Get rid of carried interest deduction for brokers (October 2016)
14. Support the exploration of space (October 2016)
Let’s hope, and work hard to make sure, that President Trump’s first 100 days are both productive and bipartisan – on the points that lift us all up. There is at least some ground for agreement.
