An Unbiased Look At President Trump
INTRODUCTION:
My staff always advises me to stay out of the political arena. I do listen and actually, prefer not to comment on politics because so many are opinionated without knowing the actual facts. Who needs the drama. However, at times, some things do need to be said. At least by someone. The news media is a great resource, but when a small excerpt of anything is shown, it can be misleading with regards to the bigger picture. We all know life is busy. Therefore, most people will tend to believe what they told. Why not, we trust that everything we are told is true, right? Why wouldn't we? It's the news, politicians are educated and knowledgeable people, right?
In the interest of full disclosure, most writers will tell you they avoid politics because they are not looking to offend anyone. An honest fact. We want people to buy our books, we don't want to anger anyone. As a Best Selling Author and Public Speaker, I am no different, but not at the cost of lowering my values and not speak the truth when it needs to be told. What the heck is the truth? Simply put, the truth is that which is true or in accordance with fact or reality. Funny, nowhere in that definition do I see the word opinion.
Moving on, I do not believe this is a political blog post in the sense that I am choosing a side, meaning, left or right, up or down, in or out. I never pick sides. I choose what I believe is right regardless of the political affiliation, BASED ON FACT. BECAUSE FACTS ARE TRUTH, and cannot be disputed. As an educated individual, firefighter, and paramedic for 30+ years, I have seen more than my share of right and wrong. Therefore, I know the difference. Right and wrong should not be based solely on opinion because there are many determining factors such as the law, upbringing, religious beliefs, and life experience.
When all these factors are considered, the phrase "what society in general," was born. It is what most reasonable people would consider right or wrong. Not everyone will agree, that is the beauty about living in America. However, it is how we express our disagreement that determines many outcomes. Keeping that in mind, before anyone forms an opinion based solely on those factors, and forgets to consider the facts, which as I already explained is truth, we now have what is called "an uneducated opinion." No, that does not mean someone is not intelligent, it means that they are missing the most critical factor that is always required to arrive at an "informed opinion." The facts, which are truth, must always be viewed and considered. The real question is, what are the facts." I will tell you this. They are NOT always what you see, hear, or read. As people, we have a responsibility to do our homework. One of my our quotes, "THE TRUTH IS NOT ALWAYS POPULAR, BUT IT IS ALWAYS THE TRUTH WHETHER WE LIKE IT, OR AGREE WITH IT." With the facts, you have the truth. You can now come to an INFORMED OPINION.
Now that I set some groundwork, this post is about the concepts of perception and opinion, versus facts. It just so happens that our current President falls prey to each of those concepts which makes everything he does, or says, extremely controversial. How do I know this? One of my jobs as a health care provider was to evaluate the care that was provided to patients. At times, I would see a video clip on the news regarding an event we were involved with. On the surface, one would think there were problems with the initial care, or proper care may have been delayed. It certainly did look that way when I got the angry call to review this information and supply some answers. Video editing is a wonderful tool. In every case, when I viewed the COMPLETE clip and compared it to the timeline of the call, I found the media edited out many things. Now I am NOT saying this was deliberate. It was not. The media is prisoner to the constraints of time. Of course, they would edit what to them was not pertinent. However, when aired, it made the event look completely different. SO LET ME BE CLEAR. I am not saying it was deliberate, in fact, I know it was not. When I would contact the reporting station to discuss this, I also learned a great deal. At the same time, I provided a bit of education as well. This was for one or two stations out of thousands. That is like trying to fix the broken leg of a mosquito that is lost somewhere in the woods. My point being, when the full footage was viewed, the event appeared completely different. What do you think? Does that issue create a perception problem that will affect viewers? Of course, it does. With that said, how does that affect perception, opinion, or fact?
Another example might be, and there are official documented cases of this. Someone takes a video with their cell phone of a police officer wrestling with a suspect. The part that goes on YouTube makes it appear as if in SOME case, the officer is using excessive force. However, when the camera video is confiscated and viewed, or compared to a dash-cam or body cam, the part where the suspect attacked the police officer is never seen. However, once public opinion has been established, it is very difficult to change because special interest groups jump on the bandwagon, it turns into a media frenzy, and a year later, when the truth comes out, it is meaningless, and many believe it is a coverup. Doesn't it seem that so much time and effort is spent destroying people's lives, and so little time is spent on fixing the screw-up? Let's move on.
If you agree with what you are about to read, fine. If not, that is also fine. However, a fact that is hard to swallow is, any intelligent person MUST be able to separate facts from perception and opinion. When you understand the facts, you can then form an educated, informed opinion. Not an opinion that is based solely on perception. If you cannot understand the facts, whether you like them or not, then you are biased when reviewing them and you will NEVER have an INFORMED, or EDUCATED opinion. That does not facilitate individuality or leadership. You are now only a follower, and one of many in the crowd. That ladies and gentleman is the hard cold truth, based on facts.
I am perfectly aware that some will like this post, and others, not so much. I can accept that because that is what America is all about; diversity, and I'm good with that. I've been judged by many over the years because I speak my mind, the truth, and the truth often times hurts. The funny part is, most of those that judge me, I do not have respect for anyway. In my view, that makes their opinion insignificant to me. That being said, remember; whether you like it or not, the truth is truth. The reality is, many people cannot step out of their own shell and put their opinions aside and look at the facts. I can. I don't have to like them, but I can accept them.
Frankly, let's get this statement out of the way. I do not care who anyone voted for or who anyone wanted for our President. I also do not care if you are left, right, conservative, liberal, independent, from Mars, or, what your race, color, or creed is. None of those factors affect the truth because the truth is based on facts. Now, where have you heard that before? Those other factors are only a representation of what people believe base on the ideals of a particular group of people, and factors I mentioned earlier. That is fine if that is your choice. However, know what you perceive may NOT always be the truth. As a society, we need to be aware that not everything every faction stands for is based on truth. To them, it may be what they perceive to be the truth. And that my friends is where the problem begins. Oh yes, everyone is playing ball, but often in different parks.
To understand this post, you should be able to put all of that aside and view the facts first. I wasn't born yesterday. If I make a statement, it can and will be perceived differently by many. This is because everyone's perception and opinion is different, and could be a result of their belief system or a group they belong to. This causes some things to be completely misunderstood versus how I may want my statement to be perceived. THIS IS WHERE MOST POLITICIANS DROP THE BALL because much of what they say is based on their opinion, their party's views, or what they think the American people want to hear, which many times is much different than the actual facts. That is why the saying, "It's not what you say, it's how you say it," is so true. Let us see if you can be unbiased and look at the facts before you form an opinion.
REMEMBER; WHAT YOU ABOUT TO READ IS BASED ON FACTS AND NOT MY OPINION. IF YOU ARE GOING TO READ THIS AND BE OPINIONATED,
"THAT DOG WON'T HUNT."
FACTS:
1. Is President Trump, (and who the President is does not change this statement. If Hillary Clinton had won, maybe some form of disrespectful events would also be occurring), supported by all people and political parties? NO! That is the key thing that makes our present political atmosphere so embarrassing and anti-productive. Our world image is not exactly the best right now.
2. So many have an opinion on this one but have failed to remember that our President has clearly explained on many occasions why this occurs. Why does President Trump use Twitter? It's not because he has nothing better to do. Could it be because our President, as he has stated on many occasions, was unfairly treated by the news media during his campaign, and through his presidency to date. Something, by the way, some media networks publicly admitted. Therefore, he uses Twitter to speak directly to the citizens of this nation. Is this the best scenario for a President, maybe not, that is a matter of choice. So ask yourself, what past President has fallen to the scrutiny at every turn that President Trump has? None that I can think of, except for those that got caught with their hands in the cookie jar, in one form or another, but never right out of the starting gate.
3. Is President Trump a polished politician with regards to how he presents his statements? NO!
Our President was never a politician. He was a businessman, and a successful one at that. For those that have never run a business, that requires a completely different form of politics and skill set. A business professional on that level does not need to win the favor of their employees. Although it is always a good practice to have employees that are engaged and interested in the success of a business, the "boss" receives that recognition by virtue of being the individual that signs the paychecks. As a politician, is our President a man that says it like it is with the minimal amount of sugar coating? ABSOLUTELY! If you remember and want to be honest, this was one of the main reasons people voted for him. He said exactly what was on his mind, and what most Americans were thinking, but afraid to say publicly. That is a big one. As Americans, we are not used to this form of communications from a President. I've been around through many Presidents. Most times, you never knew what the heck they were trying to say because many politicians talk around the issues rather than directly addressing them. You only heard from them in a special news announcement when something was wrong, or at the traditional speeches. Therefore, this method is not tried and true, not traditional, and some do not agree with it. However, many do since social media has become the main outlet for people.
4. Going back a bit, when all of this really started, did both Hillary Clinton and President Trump have things in their past that were not so acceptable to the public? YES. However, find me one individual that doesn't. The only President I could think of that was never found to have anything of considerable concern in their past that surfaced while running, or after elected, was Ronald Reagan. Keep in mind, much of what we know today about people is due to ever-evolving technology, and the ability to obtain this information. Fifty-Years ago, you would have never heard anything about President Trump or Hillary Clinton. The resources were not there like they are now. That does not mean everyone who came before was perfect? ABSOLUTELY NOT! It simply means we may have not had the resources to know about things because the technology was not there. Women did not speak out as freely as they do today, which by the way is a positive step forward, but it doesn't make everyone else angels. My support of women is clearly evident in my book "A Woman's Fear."
Good, bad, or indifferent, times were just different back in the day. What was considered acceptable behavior towards women, right or wrong, was considered the norm. Thank God that has improved. Also, keep in mind with equality, which is the way we should have always been, also comes responsibility. The excuses that many fell back on before, no longer apply. I support total equality at every level, 100%. However, that also comes with total and equal resp