Trump Versus Transparency

To be transparent is to be completely open and honest.  It is a core characteristic of integrity, the assurance of trustworthiness.  It is being sound and true.

Technically speaking, something that is transparent is best viewed when light shines through it, as for example a slide film.

And so, a transparent person is one who has nothing to hide and therefore has no fear of exposure.

Thus, by definition, a transparent person has no need to hide behind impenetrable walls of secrecy; no need to hide behind dark shadows of mystery and inscrutability.  That is, to be transparent is not only to have nothing to hide, it is the willingness to deliberately step into the light of examination in order to be validated as authentic.

Now, the truth is, human nature being what it is, we all want and need our privacy.  There is an old saying I’m sure you know: “everyone has a skeleton in the closet.”  In short, everyone has something to hide, something of which they might be guilty of, would be embarrassed by, or ashamed of, should it be exposed.  (In the Christian worldview it stems from our sinful nature.)

It is for this reason we humans have wisely learned to apply such principles—best summed up by such phrases as “being held accountable,” or “submitting to checks and balances,” or “the avoidance of conflict of interest,” or “reigning in the abuse of power,” or “trust but verify,” and so-on and so-forth—in the conduct of our social relationships.   That is to say: we humans cannot be inherently trusted without the application of an external means of verification and validation.  It’s just the way it is; the way we are.

No one likes to be taken as a fool, to be bamboozled, lied to, cheated, taken advantage of, short-changed, used and manipulated, left in the dark, seen as an easy take, or to be treated as just plain ole stupid and gullible.  This would be true not only in our personal and family relationships but in our social and political relationships as well.  All human relationships require a certain amount of trust; even a network of thieves working together need to trust each other.  This is why an independent means of validation and verification of one’s truthfulness and authenticity is often so important—as in “trust but verify!”

In comes Donald Trump.  He is the first president in modern history to consistently and deliberately and openly side-step and avoid independent scrutiny and verification.  He won’t reveal his tax statements.  He maintains ownership and therefore inherent conflict of interest in terms of his business engagements.  He stonewalls the media if they probe and examine or question his words and actions in light of conflicting facts and evidence to the contrary, and so-on and so-forth.

In short, Donald Trump is anything but transparent!

In crucial areas, areas of concern and of great consequence, Trump tends to hide under a cloak of darkness, behind shadows of mystery and inscrutability, skillfully and adroitly dodging the actual light of accountability in critical aspects of his presidency.

What is worrisome is that we, the American people, are letting him get away with it!

It will be to our detriment.

The longer we let him get away with this, the more troublesome and damaging will be the consequences to all Americans.

Mark my words!  There will be a day when we, all Americans, will greatly regret ever having elected him as president of the United States of America.  It is only a matter of time.  However long or however short that time may be in coming; that time will come.  For the light of truth always has a way of breaking through the darkness and becoming transparent.