We Don't Need a Demoralizer in Chief

This week, the Country appears to be in emotional free fall. Over the last six months, we have become accustomed to having our expectations, norms and traditions altered by a President who arrived in office intent on disrupting them. And they have ranged from crucial, such as his decision to eliminate transgender soldiers from the military to political, such as deciding not to attend the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner.

An age-old custom that Americans have been inured to expect is a calm and measured President coming to the public with assurances that everything will be all right, that we will recover, that we will be stronger and that we will be united. It makes us feel better because the President surely has the facts, data, intelligence, and savvy counsel to make those assurances. And, it brings us together as we combat a foreign foe, homegrown terrorist, or natural disaster and help those in need.

Presidents as far back as Abraham Lincoln have tried to find meaning in the wake of tragedy. The ones I remember are those that happened in my lifetime. Bill Clinton after the Oklahoma City bombing said:

To all my fellow Americans beyond this hall, I say, one thing we owe those who have sacrificed is the duty to purge ourselves of the dark forces which gave rise to this evil. They are forces that threaten our common peace, our freedom, our way of life. Let us teach our children that the God of comfort is also the God of righteousness: Those who trouble their own house will inherit the wind. Justice will prevail.

History is replete with examples of speeches that not only soothed an anxious nation, they awoke our highest instincts, our humanity and goodness. This role has been defined as comforter in chief and it is something our Country is craving.

It is disappointing to see a United States President respond the way that Donald Trump has. Instead of appealing to the things that unite us, of which there are many, he sought to divide us further and appeared to devote about as much time to the matter as it takes to type 140 characters. His prepared comments lacked the passion we see when he is expressing his true beliefs, gruesome as you may find them these days. He seems unable to table petty disagreements, personal animus and attack agenda for even one day as a country grieves and fears. The terror is mounting and people are starting to believe and, therefore, say that what happened in Germany between 1933 and 1945 could happen here in the United States. Dont think it cant, they warn.

Although I grew up in the United States in the 1960s, long after the Holocaust, I cannot remember a time when I was unaware of Adolph Hitler and the Nazi Party. My mother came America as a child with her father, an Orthodox Jewish Rabbi, her mother and two brothers. They were the lucky ones who left Eastern Europe before the Nazis started rounding up Jews and shipping them to concentration camps. Many of my relatives were not so lucky.

The reason I knew about these horrors at a young age was the number tattooed on my Aunt Hendys wrist. She had been in a concentration camp and survived to marry my uncle and raise a family in New York. The tattoo was a constant reminder of her tragic past.

After watching the Nazi and Confederate flags in the coverage of Charlottesville, Virgina, I am looking for a President who knows the evil history behind them, which evidence seems to clearly indicate he does not know or appreciate. And, I am looking for a President who makes it clear and convincing that he will take steps to rid our country of the violence caused by hate groups. I need a President who will be there for all of us, not just his base. And I am looking for demonstrable, measurable steps to bring those who did and plan evil to justice.

I dont expect any inspiring, unifying or emotionally stirring speeches to calm and unite us from this President. But, if he cant be the consoler in chief, at least dont be the chief demoralizer. Until we have a President who can help make sense of the senseless, I will have to rely on Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel and other comedians who are speaking to our grief and becoming our collective conscience.