Keywords or Terms: Bullying; Uncivil Behavior; Youthful Pranks; Assault; Child Psychologists; Presidential Election Contest; Presumptive Republican Nominee; Morning Shows the Day; Predicting Presidential Performance; Inclusive Society and leadership; Civil Society; and Washington Post.
Bullying of any kind in the public space has been a national problem. There are even states and county governments that have put out laws and edicts to counter the problem of bullying. Bullying in Grades K-12 have sometimes been a challenge for Schools' Administrators. As trite as this problem has been, it may become a more pronounced consideration in this year's general election considering the attention this problem has been receiving by parents and voters. Yesterday, the Washington Post put out a story after interviewing very close classmates of Mitt Romney, the Presumptive Republican Party nominee, for bullying pranks in the prestigious Michigan high school that the candidate had attended. If the story is true, there is no reason to believe it is not, since there are witnesses and participants in the act of bullying at this upscale prep-school, then the presumptive Republican Party nominee has questions to answer. For instance, would he be a bully President that is out of control if he is ever elected into the office?
The details of the allegation and the subscription of many of Mitt Romney's classmates who are now Republicans as well as men of different political persecutions, indicate that the allegation(s) has some credibility to it. Other incidents of bullying which the presumptive Republican Nominee has engaged in are now surfacing, in addition to what Washington Post has put out, and it seems the presumptive nominee may actually be a "high school yard bully"; or has a bullying problem. Now, before I go further, I want my readers to know that I am invested in President Barack Obama and what might seem like thong lashing in this piece, must be taken with some grain of salt. Notwithstanding, no one wants or appreciates a school yard bully, not a Democrat or Republican, if we are to have a civil society.
Sadly, the Republican nominee went on Fox News to take responsibility for the action; and, probably others that we do not now know. By this acceptance of responsibility, it must be of equal concern to many Americans who may be looking at Mitt Romney as a candidate for the White House oval office. Can we all trust that if Mitt Romney is handed the keys to the oval office, he will not resort to his old styled behavior of bullying people who work for him or those, less privileged than him? Would Romney not engage in bullying people who are necessarily different from him? Would he abridge the rights of lesbians, gay and transgenders and other minorities among us? Would Mitt Romney mortgage all the achievements that this group has attained under President Barack Obama? Would "President Mitt Romney" turn around Don't Ask don't tell; Marriage Equality; Pay Equity Act and other public policies that the Democratic Nominee, President Barack Obama, has worked so hard to accomplish, so that we can have a more inclusive society?
The new allegation(s) against Mitt Romney reveal another side of the presumptive Republican nominee that many of us are oblivious of. The question now is: how prevalent are these types of behavior in this candidate seeking our vote? We do not know how many of these uncivil behavior(s) Mitt Romney has cultivated and how often he uses them in adulthood or when he was with Bain Capital; and probably, what remnants of this uncivil behavior remain with him. Remember, the old adage: you cannot teach an old dog new trick! Talking with child psychologists, many of our adult behavior are a residue of what we have learned or cultivated by the age of five; and many of them, remain with us till adulthood and for some, till they go to their grave. This is why one must be circumspect of belated regrets from the Republican presumptive nominee, Mitt Romney. Publicly, the candidate for the November 6th contest has shown remorse; however, old habits are hard to kick; thus, he may actually retain this behavior and is only showing the current remorse out of expediency.
Empathy and sensitivity to people's feelings are qualities of a good leader. Degrading others and embarrassing them to the point of taking actions that will be construed assault in adulthood maybe discountenanced as youthful pranks; however, if you dig deeper, you are more likely to find similar behavior or action in that person's behavior in adulthood that is disconcerting just like Romney's behavior in high school. The recent expose from Washington Post may just be politics considering the fact that this issue came to light just a day after President Obama gave an ABC News interview where he pronounced that his support for gay marriages has evolved. However, be it as it may, anytime anyone decides to run for the highest office in the land, it is the prerogative of Americans to know who or what is coming to them; and, what type of person that individual has been and would probably remain while in office. We are talking about the Presidency of the whole free world, not the mayor of an hamlet or commissioner of planning or salary of a city of 85,000 plus people.
When politicians commit to a cause, they often do so out of concern or indifference to particular issues. When politicians find themselves under stress on issues concerning the state, it is not unusual that their true nature of behavior come to light; and in many of such circumstances, it is not unusual to find such politicians taking decisions or actions that make voters wonder, if that politician was the real person they voted into office, or if it is someone else. When politicians attain an office, their first goal is to put their stamp of management or style of arrangement of the affairs of the office. No one is saying that "President Mitt Romney" may exhibit behavior in the office that may be in-congruent with the expectations of voters; however, it behooves the voters to be careful in their choice of who ends up leading them as President. To get the perfect individual for the office of Presidency may be extraneous and sometimes unpredictable; however, it is important that the voters evaluate all possible variables or issues that may impact a person when he attains the office. Carefully exonerating those issues that may impact objective decisions and policies are truly essential, to making the right choice. Now is the time, to take a second look at what Mitt Romney has done in the past, as the past may somehow predict the future.
The landscape of American politics is filled with decisions made by Presidents that have changed the course of our history. Some of our Presidents made us better-off, while others have made us worse off. Presidents that have changed us or the nation for the better have often transformed the way we do things or parts of our lives and the affairs of the nation. While very few Presidents have made little impact in our lives and nation, many a times, those periods of their occupation of the White House, have made us reflect better on what we missed in them as candidates for the office. Transformation for the better is good for the overall growth of the nation; however, when the electorate misses something, the brunt of that mistake is often borne by us; sometimes devastatingly; and in some cases, permanently changing our lives and those of other nations who are our friends and or allies. There is even an adage in foreign policy or State Department that, when America's finances sneezes, the rest of the world economy catches cold. This was exemplified by recent experience with our nation's economy, just before President Obama came to power. When the debacle of our financial sector festered, due to excessive deregulation, and our banking sector went into a tailspin as we descended into a recession, there was a domino effect felt across the globe. Many European countries are suffering from a double dip recession, partly because of what happened in America a couple of years ago. If only for the experience of the last recession, it is imperative that Americans vote the right person into office rather than accepting failures of a President, that we enthroned without much consideration of his past behavior or decision(s) in position of power.
The presumptive Republican Party nominee, who once enacted and signed into law, a prototype of the Affordable Care Act, is currently disowning this law. This was a leader, who was the governor of the State of Massachusetts, who introduced a blue-print of the Affordable Care Act in that state while governor, who has barely left that office a decade, now disowning the same health policy and law. How are we sure that when, if ever, he is elected into office of the President, he would not introduce a policy and enact laws that would make the whole nation worse off; and, after a few years, disown that same policy and law. That is the dilemma for the nation and voters who are favorably considering Mitt Romney as the next President of this great nation. Can the nation afford a flip-flapper; can the nation afford a leader that will abandon us; or introduce policies and or laws that may directly change the course of our lives permanently? Can we afford a man who bullies his mates in a position of direct authority over this great nation, and by default, the free world? Can the nation afford a President that we hardly know much about his religion, except for that religion's true insiders? Our failure(s) to choose the right Person to occupy the oval office, is significant; that is why we cannot afford to overlook any information regarding the person's behavior as he seeks to win election into the office.
Many voters still rely on campaign advertisements just before an election for making voting choices. It is now time for voters to dig deeper to a candidate's background, especially when they are putting themselves up for election into a political office in our precincts, counties, states; and national government, especially for the office of the Presidency! The current deadlock in Congress should have taught us a lesson or two. Finding out that, a politician that voters sent to Washington DC to act on our behalf, is actively refusing to enact bills that will make the country better-off than worse-off, is rather unacceptable. Having legislature refuse to support bills and laws that directly improve the job-status or employment opportunities in our nation, is not only distasteful; it must be construed a dereliction of duty; and rightly addressed in our voting booths. This is why the question of Mitt Romney's past behavior is rather relevant. First it was the domestic animal abuse charge; then, bullying of a classmate that is a little bit different; what must we expect to hear next? A vote for Mr. Romney may become a doomsday for us. Voters, please think again!
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