Vote for Character

A recent piece sent to my siblings…………Just to chime in here a bit…….. my voting now comes down to who is the best person by character, personal qualities, level of courage and integrity and honesty, and basing their decisions on reality— actual facts- ….. these factors mean much more to me than political party or positions on specific positions………. Just as in the business world, the best hiring decisions come down to hiring the best person by these same qualities….given a minimum level of skill and knowledge to do the job……. Several of the businesses I worked with in recent years asked me to help evaluate final candidates for senior level positions……. Besides the generic issues of best fit, skills, experience, etc…. I always added a word or two about who I thought was the best person in terms of character……. So that’s now how I vote…….. unfortunately the current version of the Republican Party at the national level and often at the state and local level, has been taken over by the so called “MAGA” type of leaders and followers……. Character and quality of person seems to be last on their list of priorities…….. starting with the despicable, embarrassing, foolish, …….. Trump………… just as the wrong person hired by a business can do damage to their culture and climate, plus norms and policies in a company……voting for candidates like the “MAGA” ones can and likely will do great damage to America. Even beyond our greatest fears. Everyone saw how bad Trump was as President (even though all Presidents do some good and bad things). It was like a tragic comedy except none of it was funny and the implications and impact were enormous. Voting, in my opinion…. In most cases should not be about policies or agreement on specific issues (with a few exceptions) but about character. The example I talk about from recent years is Liz Cheney. I disagree with her on many many issues, but she has also shown herself to be a person of high character and great courage. I could easily vote for her or similar conservatives if I thought they were clearly the better person by character. Now, to be clear. I’m a bit of an outlier on assessing people in terms of character and the array of personal qualities. In one form or another it’s what I’ve done professionally for over fifty years. Part of that process in evaluating a person’s character is how well they have developed/ matured over the years both personally and professionally..... Both of which require the willingness to “look in the mirror” and see their own behavior, plus get feedback from others who know them well, and their ability to be open to new ideas and evidence that could change their positions on specific issues………. Given all of that……. Choosing Harris for President this year is an easy choice……. I expect she will struggle some at first as President, as they all do, ……. It’s not about how smart they are (i.e. Clinton is intellectually brilliant but struggled mightily with character issues as President…… I did not vote for him for this reason and in those elections picked alternative candidates). Character, Character, Character……. It’s not always an easy choice as both candidates at any level of politics can be people of high character (for the most part),…….. but with someone like Trump…. The choice is very easy…… he is truly that bad and dangerous…….. I know a number of people, including some good friends who did vote for him before, but thankfully all of them have come to realize just how bad he is and would be as President this time……. For the sake of our country, our family, children and grand children, and others in the future……. And for our planet (environment and relations between countries) Please vote for Harris / Walz. They are good people overall and will learn and grow into these jobs……. For the sake of the country and world and not just for their own personal benefit. They will succeed in some things and fail in other things as all Presidents do. ………. Finally, if for no other reason, the whole tragedy of January 6 2021, completely disqualifies Trump and many other Republicans from holding public office, even though some of those people are still in office and will be re-elected this year. Our democracy and republic were on the verge of potentially collapsing that day. Trump led that effort….. imagining him in the White House again is beyond dark and tragic……. In short he’s a dangerous, foolish, embarrassment of a human being......... Can you imagine anyone in our parent’s or grandparents’s generation ever voting for someone like him this time? No f….ing way