"None of Us is as Dumb as All of Us"

Or, Who is Really to Blame for the Trumpsaster

One of my favorite sayings is “none of us is as dumb as all of us”. I first saw it as a caption on a despair.com demotivation poster. Not only was it funny to me, I had witnessed how true it was over my 40+ years of business sitting through mindless meetings and walking away shaking my heads at the decisions made.

It turns out that the quote is attributable to Senator Mark Kelly from Arizona and his wife Gabby Giffords. In essence they are saying that critical decisions made by groups of people generally turn out badly.

“None of us is as dumb as all of us. It means that when you get a group of people together to make a critical decision, groupthink can set in. There's all this technical information, a critical decision needs to be made, and everyone starts marching in the same direction. There might be some people who think it's the wrong decision, but they don't say anything. They just remain a part of the group. We've learned that groups can make stupid decisions that no single individual in the group would make.” Senator Mark Kelly and Gabby Giffords.

Early on when Trump was running for President the first time, I said I wasn’t afraid of him as much as I was the throngs of people who supported him. The ability for that many Americans to turn their back on the founding fundamentals of the Country, buy in to all the conspiracy theories, swallow/regurgitate all the lies, and ignore the massive moral and character flaws of a such a person is ASTOUNDING!

I have pledged to not stoop to name calling in the voicing of my opinion, so will not characterize Trump supporters in derogatory or personal terms . However that does not apply to their decisions or their behaviors. A vote for Trump is truly the dumbest action anyone has ever made. A lot of otherwise intelligent people fell in with the crowd and made a bad decision.

The Lack of Redeeming Qualities is Immeasurable

The list of atrocious Trump actions, incompetence, and vulgar behaviors goes on without end. His wake is strewn with the corpses of many honorable American leaders. His coattails are clung to by the most incompetent people who fill critical positions in the Administration. But license to rule (not govern) was given Trump by the voters who fell into the groupthink of his supporters.

No doubt by now every American, regardless of political persuasion is beginning to feel the real and irreversible impact of his misguided and miscalculated tariff war. As always has been the case with Trump, he is not making bets with his own money. He is doing it with yours and mine. It’s his assessment of the intelligence of his supporters that leads him to say and do the things he does with your life and money. He has bet the farm (not his) to display how powerful he can be.

When in a recent conversation, I pointed out all of Trump’s moral shortcomings, the response was God sometimes chooses misfits to fulfill his wishes. That reminded me of a quote by my hero, Tom Waits, "There ain't no Devil, there's just God when he's drunk." I can’t imagine what it must take to reach the conclusion that Trump is somehow on a “mission from God”.

So to all my dear friends who supported Trump and fell in line with the rest of the “true believers”. Repent! It is not too late to save America. However, much of the savings you have lost may not recoverable. Do not tithe the devil. Swallow your pride and spit out the bad taste of a poor decision. If you are truly a Republican, resurrect the principles of Conservatism and go rest upon them for strength and courage. Make America America Again!