Last week, while being driven to his golf course in Virginia, President Trump tweeted, “When somebody comes in, we must immediately, with no Judges or Court Cases, take them back from where they came.” The president’s xenophobic outburst provided more than enough notice that he wants the United States to strip immigrants and asylum seekers of due-process rights. The president appeared unaware that we are a nation of laws and our courts, including the Supreme Court, have consistently held that anyone on United States soil is protected by the Constitution’s right to due process, even if they illegally entered the country.
The president was angry and attacked the rule of law because public revulsion forced him to reverse his policy of state sanctioned child abuse. His tweet caused me to recall Melania’s admonition to us, “As you may know by now, when you attack him he will punch back 10 times harder. No matter who you are, a man or a woman, he treats everyone equal.” This feels like a moment in the history of our democracy when citizens are called upon to move out of their comfort zones by making uncomfortable decisions and taking actions which uphold our values and democratic way of life.
True justice rests upon the conscience and reason of the American people. It can rise no higher than its source in us. We can’t rely on the largess of our elected leaders to get it done. It’s up to us to ensure that democracy is efficient in dispensing justice, preserving social order and moderating passions which inevitably arise between competing interests. We can pretend that bad things are not happening in our name or we can make good things happen by getting involved in the political process, regardless of our political stripes.
I know these are strange times to talk about civic responsibility. On the one hand, contempt for our leaders, from both sides of the aisle as well as their so-called cronies, is on the rise. Refusing service to White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders by a Lexington, Virginia restaurant owner is a prime example of aroused passions. As the list of businesses making their politics public grows longer, unaffiliated businesses find themselves the victims in a national uproar over the nexus between business and politics.
On the other hand, we witness throughout the Republican Party a renewed fascination for a strange amalgamation of nationalism and authoritarianism. This is a seductive notion that a strong authoritarian leader, given sufficient power, can solve all of our problems if we cede our political rights to his leadership. While some Americans are prepared to support such a desertion of our civic duty, I am not. I, for one, am convinced that America’s political malaise is driven, in large measure, by the erosion of trust in our public leaders. Under the tutelage of the current administration, the value of truth has lost considerable luster. But make no mistake about it, trust and truth do matter. When the truth is buried under a mountain of misrepresentations, we cannot make decisions based on facts.
Trust, based on truth, forms the centerpiece of the relationships between government and the American people. The very moment we lose trust in the value of truth, democracy starts to decay. Trust that our leaders want the best for the nation, not the best for their cronies and their political parties; trust that in exchange for our loyalty the nation will be rewarded with a better future. That is the glue that keeps democracy from ripping apart. Yet, the issue of untruthfulness, specifically lying, is currently considered an acceptable presidential character deficit.
I don’t know if all presidents lie, but some certainly have. Most recently, Presidents Nixon, Reagan and Clinton lied, but they did so for very specific reasons. History records they lied to protect their reputations. That was wrong, and each paid a political price for straying from the truth. However, the sheer frequency, ease and utter joy President Trump derives from lying has no precedent. Those who know him best swear he is OK with lying. He believes it’s OK to do so if he thinks it’s what his audience wants to hear or believe. He calls his falsehoods “Useful Hyperbole.”
God was single-mindedly opposed to lying, so much so, that he made it the 9th Commandment, “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.” In the Christian realm, the Ten Commandments are widely understood as moral imperatives, yet according to the Washington Post, during the president’s time in office, it has been documented more than 2,400 times, that he has lied. The White House and the Republican leadership are in a constant panic trying to put an acceptable spin on the president’s deceit. Apparently, they are succeeding. Recent polls show that regardless of the president’s lies his approval rating among Republicans stands above 80%.
Seemingly, to some of the president’s supporters, lies don’t matter. They remain tightly tethered to presidential falsehoods even after those assertions have been debunked by truth and multiple fact-checking sources. Other supporters may see the presidential claims as dishonesties but tolerate them as part of a “get tough” rhetorical style they admire. But, I suspect most support the president strictly out of party loyalty. I am certain additional underappreciated explanations exist which explain why the president’s “useful hyperboles” have not generated more indignation among Republican supporters. The administration’s penchant for mendacity begs this question: As citizens, how can we know what is fact and what is “useful hyperbole”? The president’s recently rejected “zero tolerance” policy offers a powerful insight into the infectious potential of a “useful hyperbole.”
President Trump knew he was lying when he tried to defend his “zero tolerance” policy against citizen push back. To create a false sense of urgency for his policy which endorsed exploitation of children, he accused refugees of being invaders who were infesting the nation. He insisted his action was crucial because our immigration program was in a major downward spiral. Of course, it wasn’t and isn’t.
He repeatedly defended his policy by insisting, in the most vivid terms, that the Democrats forced him to initiate the policy but only Congress could reverse it. The president obstinately clung to his lies even after they were laid bare by multiple sources. Nonetheless, 55% of Republicans recently polled tenaciously cling to their support for “zero tolerance.”
I believe the Attorney General is an honorable man, but he took the stage in Fort Wayne, Indiana to defend the president’s falsehoods and to add a few of his own. To add a touch of legitimacy to the dishonesty, he invoked the Bible. General Sessions directed America’s attention to Apostle Paul and his clear and wise command in Romans 13, to obey the laws of the government because God has ordained them for the purpose of order. Then he laid responsibility for the problem at the feet of refugee parents for bringing their children with them as they fled their countries of origin. General Sessions is an astute and seasoned attorney. He knew he was compounding a lie when he insisted only Congress could fix this problem. He knows better but he lied to ingratiate himself with the boss.
Enter the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS). Secretary Nielsen assumed the role of a hapless shill by tweeting that her department “does not have a policy of separating families at the border, period!” More than 500 hundred lawyers work for the Secretary. She knew she was lying when she contended that only Congress had the authority to reverse the president’s policy. Her insistence that families were not being torn apart contradicted not only the policy enunciated by the White House but it also contradicted Republican Senators and Congressmen who rushed to defend the president’s deceitfulness.
When the administration’s most powerful players so eagerly entered into a conspiracy with the president to deceive the American people, when Vice President Pence travels to Arizona to heap praise on convicted criminal Sheriff Joe Arpaio touting him as a tireless champion of the rule of law and when the President of the United States calls for annulment of constitutional protections for immigrants, we should be very wary. This underscores the fact that truth is currently at a low ebb in American politics. Thus far, lying has proved to be a very successful strategy for the president within the Republican Party, so is there an impetus for him to change.
Some will say it’s naive to ask politicians to be truthful. Yet, no matter what culture Americans come from, we teach our children to be truthful in all things, to be kind, to be attentive to the needs of others and to show compassion. These are values we try to instill in every child, qualities we embrace and expect from every child. Why shouldn’t we be able to expect truthfulness from our leaders?
Truthfulness has always been a mindset rather than a set of rules that any committed person can follow. Truthful leaders must first and foremost, be human beings with potential and with flaws. Good leaders recognize and own their imperfections. Nelson Mandela said more than once: “I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying.”
Despite my disagreements with some of the current administration’s policies, I remain optimistic. I believe there is a diverse group of women and men, throughout the nation, ordinary citizens, who believe in the power of truth. They know you don’t have to be in a formal leadership position to insist on honest leadership. Human history has known many moments when change happened, not because leaders led and people followed, but because people led and leaders followed.
These citizen leaders will provide us with direction during these troubling times. They are both a source and a test of leadership. If we take them seriously, both on the top as well as at the bottom rungs of the political ladder, then renewed trust will emerge. Trust in each other. Trust in the future and most importantly trust in American Democracy.
Ricardo Inzunza, a native of San Diego, California, was appointed Deputy Commissioner of the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) by President Ronald Reagan. During his 8-year tenure, his office was the central source for the development, implementation and oversight of all immigration service policies and practices. Now as CEO of RIA International, Ltd, Ricardo is often asked to serve as a business consultant to clients such as the World Bank and the Peoples Republic of China. He can be reached at 662 418 0913 (O), 202 664 3274 (M), or riatria@aol.com