Opus 2026-042: Immortal quotes: Character Counts

I have mixed emotions about pulling Maduro out of Venezuela.  I have mixed emotions about getting involved in the revolution going on in Iran.  I have no idea what’s going on in Ukraine.  There are certain times, more frequent than we want to admit, where we simply have to put our trust in the character of a leader.

Character has many different definitions and ways of looking at it.  Donald Trump does not have a good record in successful marriages.  At the same time he seems to have been able to raise well balance children.  Those ex-wives all get along with him.  I scratch my head over that one.  Other areas of character that we tend to ignore are probably more important in his current role.

He is a man who follows the rules.  He does that in the most legalistic manner.  If he didn’t, the Democrats would have put him in jail and impeached him long ago.  Keep in mind, not only have all the Democrats in Congress and many of the Republicans tried to destroy him, but they have weaponized the DOJ, FBI, administrative state, CIA and any other alphabet that you want to use.   In spite of nine years at least of searching, they’ve been able to find nothing that was truly illegal.

He is a man who does his homework.  As a real estate developer in New York he was very much involved in what he was working on.  I read his autobiography.  Much of it had to do with his business dealings.  He knew his market, he knew his contractors, he knew what could be done and what could not be done.  That didn’t come from reading the LA Times.  It came from doing real research.

He is a man who is willing to take risks.  Again, looking at the real estate market in New York, there are points where you have to take risks.  If you read his autobiography, you’ll find out that many of his risks were taken with other peoples money, but again that comes to doing his homework and knowing what the rules were.  He still took risks, but they were measured and thoughtful risks.

He got results.

When I look at Venezuela and Iran, my concern about getting involved is not that there is no American interest, but because I also believe that in the long run when you bail people out and they don’t have to fight it themselves, they end up not developing the character they need to be successful.  We removed the dictator from Venezuela.  OK.  That may have needed to be done.  The issue is that at some point the people of Venezuela need to stand up and step forward.  I understand that to do that before would have gotten you a bullet in the head.  Maybe now they can be free to do that and take the risk necessary for liberty and prosperity.  The same is true in Iran.  There may be small ways that the United States can help advance freedom, but the answer is not to send in the Marines and then hand everything over to someone who has not earned the position of leadership.

So far it seems that Trump is walking the thin line.  I pray that his wisdom will continue to get results.

homo unius libri