I decided to interrupt my normal weekly Financial Column to offer my observation on something far more reaching than money – LIFE!
I usually try to stay in my lane and allow the social and political pundits to address social and political topics. What’s going on in the world today simply cannot be ignored by anyone. Events that have been transpiring over the last few months do not seem real. America, The Great—a country that touts itself as the best place to live seems to be operating like a third-world country. What are the prevailing issues at hand? Many, many things. Tremendous health, financial and racial upheaval – that our President ISN’T doing a good job at handling. You cannot control certain external forces and circumstances but you can control how you respond to it.
A viral tweet recently crossed my desk that read, “People dying of Covid-19. Millions out of work. Black men being murdered in the streets. Riots nationwide. You know what America needs right now? A President!”
This day and time in history demands a need for Great Leadership who embodies vision, compassion discernment, and the ability to develop and execute a plan that will lead The American People to a positive outcome. An election year is a great time and a great opportunity for President Trump to demonstrate sound leadership and win the respect and ultimately the vote of those of us observing and crying out for sound leadership. He’s failed miserably.
When the Coronavirus first reared its highly contagious presence, he sneezed at it as something trivial. Any good leader knows that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Because of his mishandling, we the people were delayed in adopting preventative measures that could reduce the spread of the virus—causing more people to become stricken with the virus and more people to die as a result.
The world witnessed the brutal murder of an unarmed, restrained, compliant George Floyd, which happened on the heels of the killing of Ahmaud Arbery who was running in an effort to preserve and extend his life expectancy. Both heinous murders are eerily similar to the recent murders of Travon Martin and Eric Garner. How did our fearless leader respond to the murder of both George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery?
Trump’s response to Arbery, “I think it’s horrible” but shortly thereafter he suggested that there could be something we didn’t see on tape. Trump’s response to Floyd, “it was a grave tragedy that should have never happened” but shortly thereafter he’s raving about law and order and threatening to send armed troops in the streets to aggressively deal with protesters.
You’d expect leadership at The President of the United States level to be more uplifting and unifying during this time. Yet, he comes across as self-aggrandizing, callous, mean-spirited and always quick to quip.
His campaign message was/is “Make America Great Again”. As a Black Man in America I can’t speak of time nor have I read about a time where America has been great to Black people. I’m reminded of a joke Chris Rock said, “Not one White person in the audience would trade places with me, and I’m rich.” The audience roared in laughter. Funny because there’s truth in jest.
Ironically, no credit to Donald Trump, the devastation that we’ve witnessed as a country over the past several months seems to be bringing about some positive change. Are we in the midst of Making America Great?
Coronavirus forced us to slow down and take stock of what’s really important in life. It’s not money; it’s not the accumulation of stuff that becomes clutter at some point. It’s having great relationships with family and friends and life itself. Immediate families are spending quality time together. Households were spending less, saving more, eating less and exercising more—a passage to a more healthy and wealthy lifestyle.
The death of George Floyd has created much needed conversation about racial bias, racial inequality and racial injustice across the globe. I recently received a business call. I was wrapping up a review of a file so I asked the caller to hold. Instead of placing the caller on hold, I muted the phone. What I heard surprised me. I heard a lady talking to her colleague about the need to leave work early because of the protest. She said I understand why African Americans are so upset. They’ve been through enough. They’re sick and tired of it. When people get sick and tired, they’re going to react. That’s human nature. I jumped back on the phone, told her I heard what she said and thanked her for her empathy. Racial inequity is the leading story across all forms of media. People of all hues and various ethnic, political and religious backgrounds are doing protests across the globe.
The Donald, a poster child for manifesting without flaw that “White privilege” and “the good ole boy network” can get you a seat at the table whether you’re qualified or not. Donald Trump is the first sitting president whom I felt that I was smarter than—and I don’t consider myself to be all that smart. Don’t allow his wealth to fool you. Being smart and being wealthy are two different subjects. He seems grossly unfit for the job of President Of The United States Of America. I cringed at his lack of diplomacy and his limited command of the English language. Politics aside, he’s simply not presidential. Clearly, The Apprentice must have been a scripted show.
Through pregnancy and labor, we learn that pain precedes the birth of new life. It’s my desire and prayer that what we’ve experienced and witnessed over the last few months isn’t in vain. Perhaps the pain we’ve experienced thus far in 2020 can birth new life to a more family oriented, more culturally unbiased, less prejudiced way of living.
(Damon Carr, Money Coach can be reached at 412-216-1013 or visit his website at www.damonmoneycoach.com.)
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