My CMS The View from a New City

When I was young, I suffered under the illusion that temporal success and societal advancement were always connected with merit. It was a constant theme in much of the literature, philosophy and self-help books that I was raised on. This illusion began to suffer cracks in the foundation when I attended a college graduation ceremony some years ago and realized that the principal qualification of some receiving honorary degrees was their ability and willingness to donate large sums of money to the college holding the ceremony.

Over my years of practicing law, I became slowly aware that many who were promoted to prominent positions or celebrated as the lights of the profession were were chosen from a range of persons who varied widely in their intellectual, psychological and moral merit.

The final nail in this illusion’s coffin was pounded home when the American electorate, in their wisdom, selected Donald J. Trump as president of the United States, although the reverence I had been taught to hold for U.S. presidents had already suffered from the administration of Richard Nixon. However, Donald J. Trump’s total lack of qualification to hold any position of influence or power has sealed the deal on this issue.