The Nemesis?

"And as most of us know by now, Donald Trump is a counter puncher. If you are going to 'swing' at him, have your guard up, as there will be a 'flurry' coming back at you."

When I was growing up, and someone wronged me, my parents would always counsel me to be the bigger person. Let it go. Move on. When our girls were young, both my wife and I gave the same counsel to them. There are extraordinary circumstances one needs to stand firm, and maybe even retaliate. But for the most part, life becomes much easier if you learn to shrug things off. Maybe that is one of the reasons that Jesus taught us to forgive. Like seventy times seven.

Of all the people in public life I have seen in my lifetime, the person who practiced turning the other cheek the best was President Bush (43). He was simply extraordinary. By the same token, I think our President Elect might end up being the worst at "letting stuff go". And as most of us know by now, Donald Trump is a counter puncher. If you are going to "swing" at him, have your guard up, as there will be a "flurry" coming back at you.

Recently, since the onset of "tweeting", Twitter has become Donald Trump's instrument of choice. He used it again yesterday to attempt to dress down John Lewis for accusing Trump of not being "legitimate". Trump responded by accusing John Lewis' district of being a mess. And rather than talk, Lewis should fix it. Then we were off to the races. Twitter wars resulted. Republicans and Democrats got into the fray. All in all, it made everyone involved look very, very small.

I have told this story before. Many decades ago, a man I worked with Montgomery Wards was named Tony. Every now and again, a customer would come in and lay into Tony because the paint the customer bought was not satisfactory. This was not Tony's fault. I asked him how and why he would take that abuse. He just smiled at me and said, "I love to kill people with kindness. The more they yell, the kinder I want to be to them." Wow! And for that reason alone, Tony was beloved by just about everyone.

My advice to our incoming President is simply this - let many things go. Take the higher road. Disable your Twitter account as it is not doing you any favors. In fact, I believe your Twitter account has become your nemesis. Donald Trump is going to be attacked by many during his four or eight years as President. That makes for a golden opportunity to be larger than life. Retaliate with success. Success with his Presidency, and success with the country doing well during his term(s). 

Be the bigger person. Forgive. Take the high road. Move on. I know that many people disliked Bush (43) for a multitude of reasons. I however, like and admired the man. He had class. If Donald Trump can learn to brush off what is expected to be constant attacks, he could end up with a very positive and very large legacy. Step one however, is unplug that damn Twitter!