Presidential Greatness?

We all have something to hide is the point behind the saying, “everyone has a skeleton in the closet.”

Another way of putting it is that everyone has done something stupid in their life, something for which they are embarrassed or even ashamed to admit.

No one is perfect.

Nevertheless, we also like to think that we learn from our mistakes.  Though, admittedly, some seem to learn faster than others.  Still, we generally assume that we are on a positive trajectory—one of constant and consistent self-improvement.  We like to think that we are better people today than we were yesterday.

Some of us even like to think that we deserve all the credit when we do improve; easily forgetting all the people in our lives that positively influenced us that nudged us in the right direction, along the way.

Think about it.  Every great person in history has had someone in her life that s/he is able to point to, as having helped give shape to her personal development, providing wisdom, inspiration, insight and direction to her personal growth.  It may have been a teacher, a coach, a pastor rabbi or priest, a grandparent, or a friend.  Whoever it was, or whoever they were, it was most certainly someone s/he greatly respected, highly trusted, and much loved that inspired and motivated that great person to be better and do better.

But what is “greatness”?  True greatness is about quality of person and character, not about wealth and power.  It is about who you are, not about what you have or what you control.

But I have to pause.  It seems that today’s measure of greatness is not about who you are, but about what you have obtained.  By this measurement, all billionaires and millionaires are great.  They are great because they have managed to make and accumulate great sums of money.  Being worth a fortune makes them great in our eyes.

We have little concern about how they may have obtained their money.  Did they cheat, lie, or steal—to get what they have?  It seems not to matter.  All they need be is rich and successful and they have our automatic respect and support.  Indeed, if they brag about it, are proud and arrogant and boisterous about their successes and accumulated wealth, we respond by esteeming them all the more.  We are dazzled by their apparent brilliance at making it big.  And we are fools.

Let’s go back to the top.  Remember the idea that everyone has a skeleton in their closet, that everyone has done something foolish for which they are embarrassed or ashamed?  This is also true of great persons.  Great people have skeletons in their closet, like anyone else.  But the difference is that great people are properly humbled by this and are willing to acknowledge that they too have feet of clay.

Thus, one common denominator among all great persons is their humility.  And with that humility comes the ability to admit when they’ve made a mistake, with a willingness to accept constructive criticism, with a willingness to apologize and correct any errors they may have made along the way.   Thus, another common trait among great persons is their willingness to accept full responsibility for things that they have said and done without scapegoating or blaming others and pointing fingers at someone else.

And so, great people are not only humble, accepting full responsibility for their actions including every word they utter, they also have integrity and are completely transparent.  They neither run nor hide from personal scrutiny.  They are an open book.  They speak truth and do so with clarity.

With these qualities in mind, qualities of greatness, I have to conclude that our 45th president is set out to become one of the least of our presidents—in terms of greatness.