“I Will Not Participate in My Own Invisibility”

Last updated on: January 20, 2017 at 7:55 am by Guest Contributor

“I Will Not Participate in My Own Invisibility” 2017-01-20T07:55:11-05:00 Guest Contributor

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by Frank A. Thomas

I am almost excited to see Donald J. Trump ascend to the office of President. We have been in his warm up reality show act far too long. He will no longer be an outsider to Washington; he will be Washington. Everybody in Washington was an idiot or stupid in his campaign, and he alone could fix things. He has the opportunity to prove his smarts. I would advise him that it is much easier to stand outside and throw stones than to actually have the responsibility to govern. He will have the responsibility and it is my intention to hold him to account every day that he is in office. I would offer these few reflections to Mr. Trump:

1) Colin Powell famously said, “if you break it, you own it.” Watch what you break — such as Obamacare — as we learned in Iraq, it is much easier to break things than the fix them. You will own health care for all after you break it and take credit for fixing it.

2) Bombastic rhetoric and opposition to anyone who does not agree with your ideas will hurt you in the end. There will come a time when you are going to need the people that you demonize and belittle. Your lack of civility, respect for opposition, and inclusion will be your ultimate downfall. You will find that the problems are larger than you imagined, and more complex than you would have ever thought. You are going to need more than the people who agree with you. There are more people in the world than you and your supporters.

3) In America, we over-exaggerate business people and just because you know how to run a business (I would love to see your tax returns to really see if you know how to run a business) does not mean you know how to run a life or run a nation. Your business acumen and deal-making will not be enough to engender your success. You must have other skills, such as diplomacy, inclusion, and respect to be successful. Your continued assertion that when things are not in your favor — “It is rigged” is inappropriate to the stature of the person in the oval office. Stop whining! The position that as long as you are winning everything is fair is immature. Based upon some of the choices outside of business, I am not sure that you know how to run a life or a nation. You have a hard time winning and being gracious. This will not serve you well — it only builds more and more opposition.

4) And you will come to know the reality of human nature — that when you provide a social safety net, there are some who will take advantage (Democrats) and also when you lower taxes and endorse free market economy you will find some will take advantage (Republicans). I have never known wealth to trickle down to the poor; the majority of the rich seem to keep it and insure their future. An aspect and temptation of many (not all) of the wealthy and the Republicans, who are your sidekicks, is greed, raw lust for power (white supremacy and voter suppression), and self-interest. This is even more a reality now that we have come to be a one-party government at the federal and state level.

So, I look forward to see what will happen with your administration. I will be in resistance every step of the way because I fundamentally oppose racism, misogyny, and discrimination against Muslim, etc. and the many people that you insulted and demeaned along the way. Let me make it plain — you will not have my support as long as the Alt-Right and Breitbart are in the White House. I will not support people who oppose my fundamental humanity. Jay-Z said it this way: “I will not participate in my own invisibility.” Look forward to hearing from me, because I will speak often and speak loud.

Frank A. Thomas is a R3 contributor

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