Regrets
There was an article the other day, especially admit the stock market meltdown, the corporate CEOs were starting to have regrets about supporting Trump.
My reaction began with -- well, better late than never. After all, given how lock-step loyal so much of the MAGA World is to Trump, it's notable and A Good Thing to see anyone acknowledge that they were wrong about their support.
However, that was only my first reaction. The other reactions poured in on its heels -- starting with: "starting to"??? Trump and his MAGOP members of Congress have enacted tariffs on every country in the world, including islands with zero humans and only penguins living there, and including on our closest allies and trading partners, contrary to pretty close to all expert economic advice. The stock market reacted with a 10% drop-off in just two days, and a loss of $6 trillion. And top financial analysts were readjusting their economic outlooks to say that they now expect inflation to increase, with the possibility of recession. And we're only two months into Trump's term in office, after he "promised" to lower prices on Day One.
And these business leaders are only "starting to" have regrets?? Well, bully for their whipsmart decisiveness and financial acumen.
But that's only a small part of my flood of immediate next-reactions. After all, I do understand the concept of how difficult it is to acknowledge you're wrong, especially when you're a corporate leader and used to the arrogance of the position. And especially, too, out of fear of retribution by Trump and MAGOPs in Congress. So, in some ways, weak though "starting to" is under these disastrous conditions is a bold leap forward for them. (In some ways -- no all ways and in only a few ways. But, yes, some.)
Moreover, even if better late than never, that has its important meaning, and anyone who can acknowledge error, even if just the first stages, is to be admired for that. And such people should feel comfortable seeing a safe haven to be welcomed into, out of the hellish storm.
But -- being admired "for that," for stating that it appears maybe they were in error, still leaves a lot of room open for things they are not to be admired for. And that's what's grossly missing in their acknowledgment of starting to feel regret.
For starters, there's the supporting Trump and MAGOPs in the first place, accepting fascist policies -- it's not like "Project 2025" was hidden from view, supporting someone who is convicted of 34 felonies, found liable of the equivalence of rape, found guilty of business fraud, someone who said he wanted to be a dictator (and "just on Day One" is no excuse since a) wanting to be a dictator for any period of time is contrary to democracy, b) what person do they know who gave up being a dictator after only one day, and c) Trump is on record saying that he admired China's President Xi naming himself "dictator for life," while adding that he might like to try that some day), someone who used the words of Hitler, and someone who according to expert psychologists and psychiatrists was showing the signs of dementia -- including stopping taking questions at a campaign town hall and spending a half-hour dancing.
But it's not just having supported someone like this (and more). That's an action from the past. Today's a new day! But if you're going to start to regret that past action, and you want others to take your starting regret meaningfully, that's where addressing it in a meaningful way kicks in. And just saying that you're starting to regret your support -- or even regretting your support -- isn't even close to enough for that.
If you want your regret of support (whatever level of regret you're at) for a convicted felon, adjudicated rapist, pathological liar, racist, wannabe dictator, enabler of white supremacists, and a fascist with dementia to be seen as serious, and not just upset that you personally lost money, then there's a whole lot more steps you have to take to show late.
The good news is the first step is incredibly easy. At the very least, say you're sorry. Don't just express your regret. Apologize. It's good for the soul. And it opens the path for that journey of a thousand miles the philosopher Lao-Tzu taught.
But once you do get past that, among those many other steps you have to explain why you supported Trump and the party in the first place, what specifically you see being done now that is wrong and anathema to you and to democracy, why you've changed your mind about your past support, how you have no intention of voting for Trump-supporting candidates in the foreseeable future, nor voting for any MAGOP candidates in that same future until the party cleans itself of its fascism -- and even then, perhaps not again until enough time has passed that any remnants of fascism are eradicated from the party, and how ideally you plan now to vote for Democratic candidates -- in part because you understand that their policies are actually in support of democracy, or even if just in part because, while you don't fully agree with Democrats, you understand that they are the only antidote in a two-party system that is the United States which can stop the MAGOP and end its push towards fascism.
Anything less is without the substance that a person expressing the start of regret might hope for. And far less than a business leader would deserve in hoping to be seen as a leader ahead.
Again, to be clear, I admire anyone willing to say they were wrong. And if that's all a person can offer, so be it, as long as it comes with not voting for the MAGOPs in the near future. (Not voting for Trump isn't on the table, since he is not eligible to run for the White House again, no matter what flim-flam he wants to try to confuse his base with.)
But only saying you are starting to regret your support, or even saying you really do truly regret it, is not even remotely the same as saying that you will not support in the future what you regret from the past.
"I regret my support" is a very good start. Whoever you are -- a business leader or a single voter. But that's all it is, a start. It req uires much more. Without it, the regret dances on the edge of meaningless. Sorry, not for the damage your mistakes caused to others, but only that you yourself lost money, or you got fired or you alone didn't get aid after a natural disaster, which is nothing but self-centered arrogance and self-pity.
"Regrets, sure, I've had a few. But really, too few to mention. I did what a I had to do." And you'll just keep going on, repeating it all, doing it over and over your way.
For regrets to have even the slightest hint of meaning, as you finally see that the rising storm is getting closer to you, requires learning from those mistakes. Otherwise, it just makes you just an opening line in a song.
Comments