As I write this, news just broke about the Trump Administration’s policy separating children from their parents who are seeking haven in the United States. Jason Kessler, the white nationalist who organized the Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, VA, got a permit for a similar rally in Washington D.C. to mark the one-year anniversary of that hate-fest; and Antwon Rose, a 17-year-old black unarmed teen was shot dead by a white police officer in Pittsburgh.
How did we get here, and how do we embrace the words of George Bush, who in accepting his party’s nomination for the Presidency in 1988, declared that his goal was to create “a kinder, gentler nation?”
Over the last year we have gone in a decidedly, different direction. Everywhere I turn, there is meanness, selfishness and name-calling. The role of any leader is to set the tone for their followers. A parent sets the tone for his or her family. A clergyperson sets the tone for his or her congregation. A CEO sets the tone for his or her employees. And a President sets a tone for the country, for better and worse.
In the same week, I went to see the documentary about Fred Rogers, “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” His message to children, to the whole country was simple: Love. Kindness. Acceptance.
What if we elected people to public office based on character alone? What if the main criterion for leadership was chesed, the expression in word and deed of compassion? What if?
