Musings: On the editor's mind

Our apple pie and salute the flag American values start with standing for the truth and protecting the country. The American way is about truth, first and last, because we know we are the good guys. We are always the good guys. God made us that way, sent us forth to multiply.

Part of being right is not being angry. And, if you say you are not angry, it is about staying calm. If your worst fears come to pass will you stay calm?

We don’t have to love our neighbors, despite what the Bible says. We do have to get along. If you think the nation is on the brink of a civil war, which side is most eager to secede? If it is the other side, why do you think they want to start this civil war?

If you are absolutely convinced that this, too, will pass, what is your response to four more years of the status quo?

Do you agree that the Constitution is the glue holding the country together?

If the Constitution is not the touchstone, the bedrock of our nation, what is? Is it that we are all Americans? What is our defining characteristic and cause? Once we agree what it is to be an American, what do we do with such a person who does something un-American? When we say we love this country, what is it we love?

If our metaphors are not merely cliches, or worse, lies, then doesn’t the shining City on the Hill we extol have to have the same rules and the same justice for everyone?

Really, it comes down to two little tests: 1. If you are traveling abroad, are you bragging about your president, proud to be an American? 2. What do you think about what people in other countries – even European ones – think about us?

What if the president is playing everyone, from the New York Times to his most ardent supporters, for fools?

What if the only person he is committed to helping to succeed is himself?

When we look back at this presidency years hence and our options for reflecting on it range from wonderment that Trump won the Nobel Peace Prize to wondering why he wasn’t tossed from office sooner, where do you think historians and your fellow citizens are going to line up?

Are you able to work through this musing line by line with someone you disagree with? Will you truly try?