No matter what you think about our current president, it is undeniable that Donald Trump operates under a very specific worldview.
In The Apprentice, a movie about Trump’s early career in the 1970s and 1980s, the real estate mogul outlines three rules for life that he has followed faithfully ever since:
- Attack, attack, attack
- Admit nothing – deny everything
- Claim victory – never admit defeat
The consequences of those rules are clear throughout the movie: aggressive lawsuits, bribery and blackmail, self-aggrandizement and betrayal of friends and family. While the film likely exaggerates at times, these themes are unmistakable throughout the President’s life. For better or worse, he is the embodiment of zero sum, winner-take-all thinking.
Greed is good. Might makes right.
I was reminded of these three rules while listening to the gospel reading in church this past Sunday. Like Trump, Jesus advocated for a unique worldview – in his case, one based on love rather than power:
“Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
To the person who strikes you on one cheek,
offer the other one as well,
and from the person who takes your cloak,
do not withhold even your tunic.”
In Trump’s telling, other people are obstacles on the path to accumulating wealth and power. In Jesus’ telling, other people are the path to accumulating wealth – in this case, the spiritual wealth that comes from living generously, forgiving freely and loving unconditionally.
It can be easy to see the examples of these two very different men and think they have nothing to do with us. Obviously, the majority of us display neither Trump’s level of selfishness nor Jesus’ level of selflessness. We fall somewhere in-between those two extremes. We are unwilling to betray a friend to get ahead, but cannot feel anything but contempt for those who wrong us. We know that taking from others is wrong, but hesitate to give up what we already have.
In reality, we all face tiny versions of this moral dilemma every day. More often than not, the choice isn’t between screwing someone over or giving away our shirt, but something more subtle:
Apologizing to a friend despite believing we are right.
Giving up our seat on the train, or letting someone merge ahead of us in traffic.
Mentoring a colleague rather than hoarding our skills and knowledge.
In her essay for NPR’s All Things Considered, Deirdre Sullivan sums this up perfectly with a personal rule she calls always go to the funeral:
“‘Always go to the funeral’ means that I have to do the right thing when I really, really don’t feel like it. I have to remind myself of it when I could make some small gesture, but I don’t really have to and I definitely don’t want to. I’m talking about those things that represent only inconvenience to me, but the world to the other guy. You know, the painfully under-attended birthday party. The hospital visit during happy hour. The Shiva call for one of my ex’s uncles. In my humdrum life, the daily battle hasn’t been good versus evil. It’s hardly so epic. Most days, my real battle is doing good versus doing nothing.”
The real battle is doing good versus doing nothing.
In my experience, what keeps me from doing good is a lack of faith in the reward of selfless actions. I know how I will feel if I spend money on myself, but question how I will feel if I give that money to someone else. When I do have the strength to act selflessly, I can clearly see that the decision was the right one, but in the moment it’s far more difficult.
As our national stage becomes dominated by zero sum, winner-take-all thinking, it seems more important than ever to ensure that our local communities do not. The most effective resistance to national selfishness – and one available to each of us – is daily acts of kindness and generosity.
– Emmett
What I’m Reading:
Everyone’s Lonely But No One Can Hang Out – Amanda Litman
“When everything feels so bad, it’s nice to know that every Saturday, there will be a few hours that will be good.”
Radical Acceptance – Tara Brach
“Perhaps the biggest tragedy in our lives is that freedom is possible, yet we can pass our years trapped in the same old patterns. Entangled in the trance of unworthiness, we grow accustomed to caging ourselves in with self-judgment and anxiety.”