Larry D. Lauer

Recently I attended national security programs in Washington at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and the Atlantic Council. Together they provided helpful context for understanding the likely priorities of a Trump presidency and how to compensate for the uncertainties.

My take-a-way was that we can expect much less presidential interest in leading with traditional American values (i.e. human rights and participatory democracy), a significant and rapid military build up, and much more emphasis on individually negotiated bilateral trade agreements, including with China.

From my vantage point as a strategic and international communication professional, writer, and teacher, I concluded the following:

(1) If the Trump administration has little interest in championing human rights and democracy, advancing the American brand of “individual freedom and justice” will get little attention.

(2) Without American domestic and foreign policies based on fundamental human values there will be little hope for the U.S. retaining its leadership of the free world.

(3) Our allies in Europe, the Middle East and Asia will no longer have a way of anticipating our response to the inevitable crises that will be threatening them.

During years of international teaching and consulting I experienced just how much people around the world admire the basic “idea of America.” People everywhere wear American jeans and T-shirts until they wear out, listen endlessly to “American songbook” music and jazz, and watch every Hollywood movie that comes their way, all because they admire the human values and promise of freedom they symbolize.

One major speaker at the CSIS program summed it up this way. He pleaded for hundreds of NGO’s, associations, universities, institutions and individuals to plan major activities and events that will compensate for a predictable lack of focus on the most basic of American values in the Trump administration’s approach to governing. In other words, in this time of uncertainty we must all become citizen diplomats and demonstrate that the “idea of America” that the world admires is still very much alive!

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Now that the election is over pundits are pointing out that what was said during the campaign will fade away to the background. They explain that from the very beginning name calling was common and false accusations were always made. Campaigning was one thing. Governing was something else.

In today’s digital world, however, language powerfully defines one’s character. And strong images of questionable character linger for long periods of time. Now that the president-elect is taking his reality show campaign act out on a victory tour, that same gross and crude character will be recalled and indelibly stamped into too many heads… much the same as compelling song lyrics linger there for years.

What’s more, how does someone like this with an unbridled, irreverent, and mean-spirited bent  function as a legitimate and effective leader of the free world?  How does such a person pull allies together and inspire them to do wonderful and bold things just because they are noble and right? Truly, how in the world can ethical republicans rally around such a nightly “tweeter” of untrustworthy rhetoric?

The basic founders’ idea of a free, democratic, and equally just America constitutes a brand identity that is admired around the world. It is all about trust, reliability, and authenticity. And the bearer of that message must be just as authentic. What he says will either reinforce this promise, or it will cancel it out.

Political parties in the future must require a much higher level of decorum and rhetoric from any candidate they endorse. We simply must protect the integrity of the American brand, and continue our hard-earned right to lead the free world. Yes, Mr. Trump your words really do matter.

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