As many Seniors have discovered, aging brings increased personal understading of our strengths and weaknesses. Growing old, we walk a tight wire -- sometimes faltering and sometimes being nimble footed. By the time we are mature, we have achieved a balance of valuable insight about how we can do better cross-checked with a tendency to think through implications of our actions. While our insight helps us to keep our focus on how we should act, circumspection allows us to know why we need to act or not act. Said another way, insight tempered by circumspection produces reasonable thought we call prudence.

Prudence is an important attribute because it helps us through life to choose friends, careers, and investments. In the more formidable sphere of politics, prudence is essential to political leaders who must maintain a just and purposeful equilibrium within a chaotic world of public service. In the U.S., our political leaders act in concert with the U.S. Constitution and on behalf of their constituents to make prudent decisions to shape laws and to govern our nation.

Although the first two months of his presidency has proven stressful for the country, Donald Trump has yet to demonstrate a just and purposeful equilibrium because he lacks prudence. We may now know why. In the Times Magazine interview of President Donald Trump on "Truth and Falsehoods" (Michael Scherer, published March 23, 2017), we see why Trump struggles with rational decision-making and truth-telling. For example, Trump stews about how he is perceived by the media and says he will be "proved right" in response to a question about his claim that 3 million illegals voted for his opponent . To further bolster his superior insight, he also cites his prediction of Brexit as proof of his outstanding instinct.

By clinging only to his insight or gut feeling as a guide to act because he trusts his instinct "to be right," Trump frees himself from the extra step of circumspection. He cannot or will not consider the implications of what he says or does since he is convinced "the country believes me." Moreover, becaue he has achieved the pinnacle of political contests, the presidency, he has no motivation to think beyond his gut feeling which got him through the political campaign -- no doubt the reason he continues to have campaign events to remind him that his instinct is working.

What President Trump needs is a job coach who can provide some thoughtful perspective to motivate him to think about implications of what he says and does. Without a prudent person urging reasonable thought to temper Trump's gut reaction and restrain his Tweets, Trump is an impulsive, unsteady high wire artist risking a sudden fall.

Prudence to Govern

At Issue