​https://youtu.be/Tv_1igjQsug

[This blog post contains a few sexual comments which are mostly not discussed in polite company.  So please be warned. Not appropriate for children]

This blog is not about politics.  It uses an example from politics to discuss how we should judge people for what they say.

“When you’re a star they let you do it. You can do anything,” said the person who is set to become the 45th President of America in a private conversation with a friend.  In “anything” he included, “Grab them by the p____.”  He was talking about private parts of attractive women who he met for the first time.  

Since he won the election, it is clear that enough people thought that this statement in itself did not disqualify him from being the President. Trump’s defense was that this was just “locker room talk” and that he has never done anything like this.

Many of us may have had sexual or even violent thoughts and may even have expressed some of these to our friends in private conversation.  So can we judge someone else for such a comment.

Isn’t free speech a constitutional right.  And since he did not DO it, should we judge him.  

Of course we should not judge him to punish him.  However, is that the standard to hold when we are trying to decide who should be our leader or for that matter who should be our spouse or friend.  

Here what people say should matter a lot.  All action originates as thoughts, then manifests as words and finally as action. So words are a reflection of what is deep in our mind and a precursor to what actions we may do. As thoughts emerge deep within our mind, and move towards word and then action, at every stage, we filter out what is harmful.  We may have desires to say or do things which maybe harmful to others, but something in our mind stops us from doing so. Like when you have a deep desire to say something really mean to that rude person in the grocery store, or when you feel like slapping an annoying colleague. But you stop yourself. You stop yourself either because of your values or because you are worried about the consequences.  Or you don’t have the resources to act on your words. Like you may want to jail (or deport) everyone who is ugly, but you don’t have the resources to do so.   

When we give some one enormous powers like making them President of the most powerful country in the world, we are removing most constraints related to consequences or lack of resources.  They can do pretty much anything. So they will filter out only what their own value system stops them from doing.

In that sense, the words uttered by our 45th President are troublesome.  He said that he can do these nasty things and get away with it because he was a star.  This says that his filter was “what can he get away with.”  And it passed through at least first two filters–what I should think and what I should say.  Now, try completing the sentence, “When you are the President of United States, they let you get away with it.  So I don’t wait, I just……………..” See what I mean. I pray that starting January 20, when he is vested with great power, he develops great restraint and a great value system.