Apr 28 2019
We need and want leaders to exude morality and dignity. But insisting on these qualities can fall by the wayside in times of economic or social anxiety, or when we’ve simply been betrayed once too often by leaders of old. Then we end up leaning into the assurances we can get, especially if some key and beneficial things are still getting done.
This week, America began to grapple with its obligation to to its constitution, a document that serves as both governing framework and moral North Star.
(Too busy to read and click through all the article links? Listen to this podcast episode, for highlights on the go.)
As The World Turns
Constitutional obligation vs political reality
This is becoming a recurring theme, whenever I think or write about the state of American politics. What’s the right, and best choice to make when so much seems existential, and so little seems clear – even when considering which 2020 Democratic candidate to support?
This week, the Democratic party continued to weigh its political and legal options in pursuing more evidence against the sitting president. The conclusions in the recently-released Special Counsel report were open-ended enough for both the executive branch to claim victory, and for Congressional oversight committees to continue probing.
Gray areas suck, don’t they? But more and more of our lives, and societies, exist in the gray areas where answers aren’t easy, and choices aren’t clear.
To many legal observers and political players, there’s ample precedent and evidence to continue investigating charges of obstruction of justice. Plus, the current and future integrity of the presidency makes this a vital and necessary course of action. No president should receive the signal that they can get away with this level of political, if not criminal, misconduct. America’s Founding Fathers would want nothing less. As Elizabeth Drew puts it in this opinion piece, “Madison and Hamilton didn’t say anything about holding off on impeachment because it would be politically risky. It’s hard to imagine they’d put political convenience on the same footing as the security of the Constitution.”
But there’s the practical reality of a sitting president who doesn’t play by the usual political rules, nor honor the usual institutional norms. He’s likely, and is already beginning, to use the additional investigations as political fodder to get re-elected. Wherever you may sit on the spectrum of loving or hating him, his political instincts are noteworthy.
More than ever, this calls for a balanced and effective approach. And wherever you may sit on the spectrum of loving or hating Hillary Clinton, her thoughts on a path forward ring more clearly than most:
“…like in any time our nation is threatened, we have to remember that this is bigger than politics. What our country needs now is clear-eyed patriotism, not reflexive partisanship. Whether they like it or not, Republicans in Congress share the constitutional responsibility to protect the country. Mueller’s report leaves many unanswered questions …but it is a road map. It’s up to members of both parties to see where that road map leads — to the eventual filing of articles of impeachment, or not. Either way, the nation’s interests will be best served by putting party and political considerations aside and being deliberate, fair and fearless.
The Mueller report isn’t just a reckoning about our recent history; it’s also a warning about the future. Unless checked, the Russians will interfere again in 2020, and possibly other adversaries, such as China or North Korea, will as well. This is an urgent threat. Nobody but Americans should be able to decide America’s future.”
Hillary Clinton
Former First Lady, former US Secretary of StateThe free press does some soul searching
Last year, I cringed as I watched comedian Michelle Wolf deliver her scathing set at the White House Correspondents Dinner. When more than one media outlet gave her comments oxygen and lauded her for calling out the failings of the current administration, part of me did wonder if I was being too sensitive.
I’m up for a good laugh, as much as the next person. And there’s always room to take powerful people down a peg (or several), for the greater good. But I do wonder if, in the press’ well-intended zeal to call out bad, inconsistent and corrupt behavior, we may sometimes lose sight of the fact that many corporate and public service leaders are good, decent people.
When does a free press become its own worst enemy, chasing after the bad guys at the expense of chasing down what the good guys have done for us? And when does a comedian’s roast start feeling like a personal and vindictive attack for its own sake?
That line will be different for each of us. But I’ve yet to have a conversation where a dose of uplifting kindness, instead of a spray of finger-pointing disdain, didn’t help to move the needle forward.
This weekend, the White House Correspondents Dinner chose to re-commit to its journalistic roots. Instead of a comedian headlining the event, they invited Ron Chernow to speak, the historian who wrote the book that inspired and informed the musical Hamilton. Ron was unexpectedly entertaining, and astutely reminded the audience what their work was truly about:
“Donald Trump is not the first and won’t be the last American president to create jitters about the First Amendment. So be humble, be skeptical, and beware of being infected by the very things you’re fighting against.
The press is a powerful weapon that must always be fired with reluctance and aimed with precision.”
Ron Chernow
American writer and historianOm Is Where The Heart Is
Battling darkness with light
As I shared in Episode 20 of the Peace Matters podcast this week, nothing beats the stark image and stoic wisdom of Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein. Rabbi Goldstein is one of four victims in Saturday’s hate crime shooting at a synagogue in Poway, CA. Listen to the podcast episode for a key excerpt, or watch his entire address below:
News and Views
Create your meaningful life
Starting May 2019, I’m conducting “Create a Meaningful Life in an Uncertain World,” a 75-minute workshop designed to deepen and expand your quest for meaning in work and life. It’s based on the tools and insights I’ve gleaned on my own rich, if turbulent, journey.
I live to ease that journey for you, through this workshop and the other services I offer.
–> Learn more and register for the workshop here.
In the next issue:
I’m reading a memoir by a career diplomat – hope to share more about it next week. And there’s my usual wishlist of articles-I’d-love-to-write-and-publish. May at least one of them be done and dusted soon!
Till then…
Live well and lead large – Maya