This slogan with the word peace rather than President-elect Trump was the darling of liberals of the Vietnam era. Those same liberals and their children see no irony in their denial of "a chance" to the man who fair and square won election as President.
They decry his rhetoric. They abhor the rhetoric of many of his supporters. They label and decry his appointees on the basis of those same labels.
They point to his "un-presidential" behavior and his willingness to turn to family for advice (yes we banned that after RFK but only in a formal sense). They decry his supposed racism and fascism but can point to few examples of behavior of the first kind and NO examples of the second kind.
In truth they are being angry and vengeful -- much like the crowd of Trump supporters who elected the Donald. But they cannot see it that way. They are speaking "truth" revealed as if from on high. It is just BS and it is demeaning to the rest of America.
We elected as President a man who has spend almost fifty years answering only to himself. All evidence suggests he is a tough judge since he seems to go great lengths to portray EVERY story as a victory for DJT. But now, for the first time in two generations, he must answer to others -- 330 million plus others.
Truthful hyperbole may have held him in good stead in the past, but it only works to weaken his hold on the populace in the present.
But then again, he has had fewer than three weeks to even begin to understand the mammoth responsibilities thrust upon him. It is all new. In his words it is bigger than HHUUGGEE. And it is all on him.
This is a man for whom the victorious transaction was far more important than the continuing relationship -- but now he needs relationships.
For whom the sales pitch was judged solely by what kind of deal was struck and even then more importantly by what kind of a story could be told -- but now he cannot control the stories.
For whom loyalty was a demand he could make of others but was not obligated to return -- but now disloyalty hangs over his team like a constant plague.
For perhaps the first time in decades, Donald Trump is relearning the meaning of respect -- the idea that others should be seen as if they will be dealt with repeatedly and not just as a one-time transaction. World leaders and members of Congress are not like the scorned contractor denied payment on an invoice. They will return over and over again and once burned, twice shy.
Our future President Trump needs time, to mature into his job and to mature into becoming President.
That same scolding crowd was more than willing to give Barack Obama time - and in the process the very hopes of many millions of Americans that policy might once be more important than politics got trampled by the aggressive politics of Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and Rahm Emanuel. Cross the aisle had no chance then ... so why are these same folks interested in killing it now?
Our President-elect has said many things and suggested he supports many other things -- but the support and the statements are inconsistent and frankly irrelevant. What matters is how he acts when he is given the levers of power to do.
He is learning and testing and hopefully thinking. He has not done anything like this before.
We chose to embark on an experiment. It is foolish to decry its lack of experiential evidence. That lack was the very idea that got him elected.
So my liberal friends (or to those offended by this article -- former friends) hold your tongues. If you have something CONSTRUCTIVE to offer, please do so. Be vigilant when the action starts. But if all you can now offer is critique, labels, and complaints -- stop. You are helping no one.
You want an audience with the levers of power before decisions get made. You need to earn it.
And being nattering nabobs of negativism is not the ticket.
All we are saying is give Trump a chance.