Unwritten Rules

Some kids were playing soccer - and a new kid comes along.  He'd never played before.  They said the rules were simple - don't touch the ball with your hands or arms - get it in the goal.  The new kid played along - but was not as skilled and went home frustrated.

The following day -  the new kid came back - with a trick- he knelt down, scooped the ball up with his shirt - into his belly, never touching it with his hands and arms, and ran to the goal with the ball under his shirt and dumped the ball in.

Everyone laughed and cheered as he did it, it was really funny to watch. And his goal won the game... or did it?  He missed the intent of the game. Technically he followed the rules, the ball never touched his hands. But he did not know about or care about all the unwritten rules. He did not play the game the way the other kids did as he saw them playing. That was too difficult.

Technically, the new kid got the goal... but soon after - the laughing stopped - no one was happy.  They all felt cheated.  They stood bewildered at what they realized was the selfish cleverness of the new kid.  He won and lost at the same time. He had no respect from any of the other players on either team moving forward. The crowd watching eventually shunned him for his actions.

That kid's name is Trump.

In this election-- Trump ran with the ball - and broke lots of unwritten rules of politics, morals, ethics, and even laws. He is a businessman, entertainer, reality TV host - playing a different game, by his own rules - not illegal, quite entertaining, but not in in the spirit of 'The Game' of politics.

• He broke unwritten rules of conduct by being outlandishly rude during debates, interrupting opponents openly, creating personal attacks on competitors, slandering opponents personally.
• He broke moral laws and made it uncomfortable for millions of peaceful Muslims, he vowed to get rid of them, isolating all Muslims, women, men, kids in schools, people on the streets, making them outcasts in a free nation. Many tens of thousands of innocent children are discriminated against today - even by their own teachers and fellow students.
• He openly vowed to put his opponent in jail - against the written laws of this nation, a tactic of dictators of the past and present who 'eliminate' any threats because of their own fears.
• He incited riotous behavior - encouraging mob mentality by chanting 'lock her up'. That is illegal in most states.
• Same as other dictators of the past, he blamed all the current economic problems on a tiny minority of weak and poor immigrants, inciting anger and resentment and economic fears.
• He levied very personal attacks on reporters, and critics, instead of answering questions, he attacked character and people - using this tactic to evade questions.

There are many many more examples, but each of these above breaks in some way all of the unwritten rules of politics, of people and morals and ethics. Trump was brilliant in creating fear, diverting important topics and making his weak opponent look weaker.

People laughed and encouraged him as he ran towards the goal of Presidency.  It was fun, new, novel... very entertaining.  But did he really win? Did he play by the rules of Politics as we all understand them? Technically, the ball crossed the line, but how it got there was not honorable in the spirit of 'The Game". There is little victory celebration now. Most people around the globe have serious concerns about this 'player' and how the game was won. Many feel cheated.

It was too difficult for Trump to play by the rules. To have intelligent dialogue, play by the rules of politics as we know them. So he bullied his way in through fear and intimidation and personal attacks... exactly like he does in business deals. That is fine in money and real estate, but now people's lives are at stake. This is not reality TV -  this is real reality - does he know or care about the difference?

So like the soccer kid - one clever person broke most all of the rules. He ran across the finish line. We were all stunned how he did it, we laughed along. But not we are happy. Do we allow this 'WIN' just because one person was entertaining and played the game differently? Time for some new rules? Or do we not let that kid play in the game anymore? Or do we simply learn and grow and not let it happen again? How?

What other unwritten rules will 'this kid' feel inclined to ignore because he wants to do his own thing? Ego is a powerful thing. It has made and broken civilizations. Playing the game your own way for personal gain is often an unhealthy thing long term.

Humble public servants... "One Nation Under God... with Justice for all". For ALL.... Muslims, Mexicans - 'Lock her up' in not Justice. Women's rights have been violated. Laws have been broken in inciting anger and mob madness in not justice. We need election reform now more than ever. As they say - Winning in not everything.