Good Caretakers

On the morning of January 20, 1993, in his last hours as president, George H.W. Bush sat down at his desk and penned a letter to the man that beat him, incoming President Bill Clinton.  It was an amazingly gracious letter ending with, “Your success now is our country’s success.  I am rooting hard for you.”  I’m not sure what made me think of that just now.

I have a love for both old buildings and American history.  When the two collide and I find myself standing in a building where American history came to life, well that’s a religious experience for me.

Whether with an old building or our American form of government, I often find myself musing who is more important, the builder or the caretaker.  Usually, I concede it’s both equally.  The greatest of caretakers will struggle to overcome a poorly built building or a poorly conceived system of government.  But equally true, the most magnificent of structures or of governments can come crashing down at the feet of the wrong caretaker.

Our system of government is a magnificent structure.  It is majestic and gilded, made of the strongest polished rock and glittering gold.  Under the finest of caretakers, we have flourished and marched toward more perfect union.  And under the worst of caretakers, we grew tarnished with cracks of separation threatening our foundation.  A worthy caretaker will tell you America is a “shining city on a hill” and an unworthy one will tell you it’s “a garbage can”.

To those that are thinking I’ve watched too many Aaron Sorkin shows in my time, you’re not wrong.  What I wouldn’t give for a real-life Republican version of Jed Bartlett or Andrew Shepherd right now.  We should aspire to more.  Our leaders should again be among the smartest, most well-read.  They should surround themselves in government with people they know to be even smarter than they.

The irony is that the only thing a great caretaker and an awful one share in common is the people that hire them.  Whether it’s building owners or voters, too often the decision is made by opening their wallets, looking at the contents, and deciding from that which candidate to hire, all other factors be damned.

I know these are the musings of a blessed man.  I have the time and means to consider such topics.  It’s been 30 years since I’ve known the feeling of raiding my penny jar to get to the next payday or doing math to see if I had enough gas money to complete a road trip.  But I do know those feelings and know that having to worry about them leaves little room for other considerations.  So while I may question the judgement of my fellow voters at times, I never question their motives.  People are doing their level best with the information they have to pick a candidate, often the lessor of evils, that best matches their own experiences, circumstances, and needs.

And in this presidential race, we are indeed faced with a remarkably difficult decision, a choice between a man that lacks the character (and is more populist, protectionist, and autocratic than he is conservative) against a woman whose values have apparently not changed even though she would have us believe most of her policies have.  What a choice.

I’m not sure what will happen November 5th.  The Republican in me hopes no matter who you vote for at the top of the ticket, you will vote Republican down the rest of the ballot as an insurance policy.  The American in me simply prays that, whatever the outcome, we’ll do four things.

First, we’ll accept the results knowing in our hearts that American elections are free, fair, and legitimate in all material respects.  Saying otherwise without evidence, beyond being dangerous, is an insult to the hundreds of thousands of poll workers that freely give their time to ensuring it.

Second, we’ll roll up our sleeves and work together on the great issues of the day, doing our level best to be good caretakers even, and especially, when our leaders aren’t. 

Third, in future elections we’ll expect more from our potential leaders.  Words matter.  Hyperbole has real consequences.  Saying false things on repeat creates division where it need not exist, wastes taxpayer dollars on needless investigations, and consumes legislative energy solving problems that don’t exist.  Telling people what is wrong with their lives and who is to blame is demagoguery, not leadership.  Defending the indefensible is cowardice.  And following the party line 100% of the time is not thinking critically enough.

Fourth, we’ll be reminded by those who would risk everything to come here that America is still great.

I am rooting hard for us.