“Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people – does not even pretend to try.  Instead, he tries to divide us.” Gen. Jim Mattis, Trump’s Defense Secretary 2017 to 2019. 

This election is essentially about decency. As a nation will we return to a modicum of civil politeness and decency in our political discourse or will the Trump-inspired anger, ugliness and division be the future of our country? 

The contrast between the two presidential candidates on their basic human decency – who they are, how they behave and how they treat others – is huge and more significant than any policy differences (although those are also significant). 

We see it reflected in how the candidates campaign. In recent appearances, Trump talked about “I and me.” Harris emphasized “we, us and our.” This contrast is significant.

We see this contrast reflected in the lives of the candidates. Both Harris and Walz have spent their entire lives working in public service. Both Trump and Vance have sought personal gain, fame and celebrity. They both have a very limited experience in elected office. 

It has been widely documented that Trump, and his businesses, profited from his time as President. Vance’s flip-flop on supporting Trump proves he will say or do anything to get ahead. 

Retired Marine Corps general John Kelly was the longest serving of Trump’s four chiefs of staff. He said about Trump’s character, “The depths of his dishonesty is just astounding to me. The dishonesty, the transactional nature of every relationship, though it’s more pathetic than anything else. He is the most flawed person I have ever met in my life.” 

We cannot be “great” or even survive as a nation if we continue to elect poor-quality leadership. To do the hard work of building a better country we must have good, caring leadership. We must have knowledgeable, innovative, compassionate, public-spirited leaders who will bring people together to solve problems and heal the divisions that plague our society. 

We need decent people who actually care about other people leading our nation. 

In 2016 many Americans were fooled into believing that Trump cared about people. We now know better. The four years of Trump’s chaotic presidency prove what kind of person he is and the damage he can inflict on our country. 

Robert Reich has documented this record in a short video called 10 Worst Things About The Trump Presidency.  It actually lists 75 reasons why Trump should not be President again. I would challenge anyone, regardless of political persuasion, to watch this short video and still believe Trump is the better choice. 

Mark Esper is another former Secretary of Defense in the Trump administration. He said, “I do regard him as a threat to democracy, democracy as we know it, our institutions, our political culture, all those things that make America great and have defined us...” 

The idea of national greatness is problematic. How do we define being great? Does having the biggest military make us great? Does being the biggest consumer nation make us great? Does building walls make us great? And just when was this golden age when America was “great” in the past? 

Is being great even a good national goal? Being “great” implies an arrogance and belief that we are “exceptional” and somehow better than other nations. We don’t need to be “great.” We need to be good and at least try to live up to our stated ideals. 

As I wrote in the past, there were times in our history when the United Sates was admired and emulated (Making America Great, September 22, 2016). The ideals of the Declaration of Independence inspired many countries to overthrow monarchies in the early 1800s. The Constitution became the model for similar documents around the world. The Bill of Rights was copied (and expanded upon) in many of the constitutions written since 1789. 

We helped create the United Nations and the Declaration of Human Rights. America was once the destination for immigrants seeking opportunity and freedom. The Progressive Era and the New Deal were periods of reform based on these ideals.

I doubt this is what Republicans mean when they pontificate about national greatness. I doubt they are calling for a return to the post-WWII era when unions were growing, prosperity was spreading, civil rights were expanding, the middle class was growing and women were gaining more equality. 

I doubt they are thinking about universal free public education, the Marshal Plan, The GI Bill, Social Security or the Voting Rights Act as examples of our greatness. 

But these are some of the many ways we tried to live up to the ideals of democracy, equality, and opportunity for all. This is when we took real, practical actions to “secure the blessings of liberty” for everyone.

Our history includes many failures to live up to the ideals of freedom, equality, opportunity and justice for all supposedly established in our founding documents. Sometimes these were failures perpetrated by the government and sometimes it was vigilantes, hate groups or simply people being intolerant of their neighbors. 

Most people are aware of the most egregious examples such as slavery, lynchings of Blacks or the massacres or Native Americans. But few under-stand how widespread illegal and uncon-stitutional behavior was toward many people in this country and abroad. 

We have had many hack politicians in positions of power throughout our history. We have had many greedy, self-serving, small-minded men who did not serve the public well. We have had many backroom, “dark horse” compromises without the experience or competency to do the job. We have had many puppets who danced to the manipulations of the powers behind the scenes. 

But by any objective standard, Donald Trump is the worst in our history.

Former Republican Senator Liz Cheney is a staunch conservative (and daughter of former VP Dick Cheney). But she understands  how critical this election is for our future. She has said if Trump wins in 2024, “...we’ll be living in a nation that’s unrecognizable, and the danger is so grave that, for the first time in my life, I will be working with every fiber of my body against the Republican nominee for president.” 

Decency is on the ballot in November. The choices are clear. Which side will you be on?