Along that same line of thought, you fancy yourself an “outsider”, not a career politician. One could argue much of your popularity is based on this belief – the idea that we can’t have people who spend their entire lives in politics, and become bureaucrats, elitists, and part of a ruling class, similar to what people see in France – a population of professional politicians. As an outsider, how do you intend to change the culture that has survived so long in that city? How will you create a culture of public service, vice personal agendas? How will you help our republic be more representative of the majority of the population and not just the vocal minority?
As I said before, I think many of us are right in the middle – we want our freedom of religion, but don’t want it to infringe on anyone else; we want our right to bear arms, but understand that smart regulation is required; we want people to live as who they are, but don’t want it to overstep the rights of others. In short, we want what is good for the country, not just us. I think most reasonable people understand there is a middle ground – and I know it exists because if it didn’t, the religious right would have nominated Cruz and the Liberal Left would have Sanders win by a landslide. My guess is, that you are there because we are frustrated – we in the middle, who think and aren’t just party line, are stuck. So how do you meet us and be representative of all of us, not just a select group?
Where do you think there is room for negotiation? Where do we need more education? And in the end, what issues do we need to put upfront so that we can move the country forward?
Those are pretty philosophical questions. My next set is much more concrete. Our Nation has recently gotten distracted with issues that really aren’t that important, and quite honestly, not that hard to solve: Who should be on the Twenty Dollar Bill? Who cares, as long as the dollar is strong. Who should go in which bathroom? If you have male anatomy, you go in the men’s room, if you have female anatomy, you go in the women’s room. If you want to go in the opposite bathroom, get an operation, alter your anatomy and feel free. “I identify as” doesn’t change your anatomy. I would love to identify as a billionaire, but I don’t think people are just going to give me money because I do, So these are easy issues – they don’t take thought, and they are provocative, but they don’t do much to tell me how you will lead our country.
My personal concerns are these: What’s your defense policy look like? Are we going to be isolationists? Are we going to build strong alliances? If we are, with whom? What will we do with the Middle East? Are we going to go after ISIS in a more thoughtful way or just let them burn out? Are you going to listen to men like Ralph Peters on Fox News, who has never heard a shot fired in anger and believes that our military doesn’t have the moral character or strength to fight our current conflict successfully, or are you going to grab real statesmen like GEN (R) Stan McChystal? I don’t care if we are composed of homosexual and female Warriors, I just want to know what you are going to do with them.
What is your immigration policy? I got it, your wall. We all know that can’t be done. I spent a long time studying borders – from the U.S. to the Middle East to the Pacific. This wall idea is a campaign stunt. What are we really going to do? What does screening look like? What does our path to citizenship look like? How do we maintain our tradition of welcoming the world, and still maintaining our security? It is a tough question, and I would rather you give me a thoughtful “I am not sure” than “we are building a wall that Mexico will pay for.”
What will you do with healthcare? Will we keep what we currently have? Will you repeal our system even though the SCOTUS has said it’s legal? More importantly to me, what are you going to do with the VA? We all know the system is broken – firing people isn’t the answer, fixing the system is. How will you tackle that problem? How will you keep 22 veterans a day from committing suicide? These will be your men and women – how will you protect them? I was almost one of those 22. It wasn’t a system that saved me, but not everyone is as lucky as I am. What are you going to do to help our veterans assist in the evolution of our Nation under your leadership?
What are you going to do about taxes? We know the current system doesn’t work. Do you have a plan to change it? Are you just going to change tax rates, or are you going to actually change the process? How will it fit into the above – healthcare, defense, social programs, etc.?
Mr. Trump, if you were a normal politician, I wouldn’t expect any answers. But you are running on the whole premise you are an outsider, so I know, you will provide some clear policy thoughts that don’t just run us in circles – that give us clear guidance, or tell us you don’t know, which is better than bull. If you stay on the course you are on, I am afraid that you are just another politician, maybe not one from DC, but one who immigrated successfully. Please give me a reason to vote for you, not just be my option to vote against someone I know is not a leader.
Humbly,
JC Glick
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LTC (Ret) J.C. Glick is a leadership consultant, Partner, and co-Founder of Prodromos Leadership Team, who advises at the strategic, operational, team, and individual levels. He has a strong background in leadership development, executive personnel assessment and selection, strategy, coaching, counseling, and developing innovative solutions to complex problems.
JC served in the U.S. Army as an infantry officer for 20 years, primarily in special operations and special missions units with more than 11 combat tours. Since retiring from the military, JC has brought his innovative and unconventional thoughts on education, leadership, and resiliency into the private sector, consulting with Fortune 500 companies, the NFL, NBA, NCAA, and professional sports teams including the Denver Broncos, Carolina Panthers and the Charlotte Hornets.
JC recently wrote and published the thought-provoking, groundbreaking book titled “A Light in the Darkness: Leadership Development for the Unknown”, which has been implemented by major corporations including the NFL and Microsoft and endorsed by leaders in the field of education, sports, and entertainment, business, and the military.
JC is considered a thought leader in adaptive and proactive programs of instruction centered on the development of leadership behaviors and values suited to dynamic environments and situations of ambiguity and adversity. JC recently developed the “Prodromos Developmental Model”, a capacity-building system designed to develop people and leaders for the future, which is outlined in his book. His methods have been featured in Forbes Magazine and the Huffington Post and his work has been referenced in Forbes, Inc., and Entrepreneur.
He holds a Master’s Degree from the Naval War College and was a Senior Fellow in the Service Chief’s Fellowship at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
He has earned 3 Bronze Stars, 3 Meritorious Service Medals, a Joint Commendation Medal, and the Order of Saint Maurice. He is a Liberty Fellow, a part of The Aspen Institute and the Aspen Global Leadership Network.
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