What would you do?
We have all heard it said, “you never know what someone is going through until you walk a mile in their shoes;” if you have lived long enough you understand the validity of that statement. It is in that spirit that I attempt to consider how people make decisions; not with the intent to judge them, but to better appreciate their decision-making process and, if I am lucky, maybe learn something that might prove valuable should I face a similar challenge in the future.
Admittedly, it isn’t easy to dissect, from the outside looking in, what goes into decisions; frankly it is virtually impossible. Sometimes a decision is made with facts that others don’t have, other times, a decision is driven by a broader understanding of variables and outcomes which might come from the resulting decision; sometimes it is also impossible to ascertain what the motive of the person making the call might be; it could be driven be a personal agenda without any consideration of their role, or occasionally a decision could be made ignoring personal gain, focusing on the broader good.
Simply put, a lot goes into how someone decides what they are going to do; and doesn’t that make it interesting?
Along those lines, a decision was made a few weeks ago that I have thought about many times. I would ask you, if you can, to consider this decision independent of politics; in fact, it is most interesting to ask yourself how you might have handled it, then to seek blame or disparage the person who made the call.
Two weeks President Biden pardoned his son, Hunter. The pardon was a blanket pardon, protecting him from his current conviction and from any prosecution that could result from any actions he might have taken in the last ten years, a length of time that covers the statute of limitations on most anything. Said differently, the President used his official power to protect his son.
Much has been and could be said about Hunter and his actions. You could argue he is completely corrupt, or a victim of political persecution and I am sure it would yield an exciting debate; but it is pointless as it relates to the discussion of should President Biden have done this.
I am disappointed that he pardoned his son; I am disappointed for the nation; but frankly I have been disappointed for a decade and this disappointment doesn’t materially add to my feelings about this situation. It sets a bad precedent to think a president would use the office for a personal need; but I am likely naïve; I am sure past presidents have done this, and future ones will as well.
I have always believed the best decisions come from someone who has thought in advance about how they might react to prospective opportunities. In the military they call this training, in sports it is practice, and in business role-playing; in fact, in almost everything we do, we attempt to do something in advance to prepare ourselves for what is coming. I like to think; okay I hope presidents do the same thing. I want them to think about they will handle a domestic crisis or a military threat; I want them to emotionally “go there”, before they are actually there.
Having said all that, there are times when you can’t imagine a scenario and are thus not thinking about how to react in advance; sometimes stuff happens, and it is incumbent that you act without any prior view. I am sure when Biden took the oath to become president the question of whether he would need to pardon his son had not crossed his mind. I know, for some of you, you think, of course he thought about protecting Hunter, he knows his son is a bad guy. I hear you, but I also know from experience that most leaders have grander thoughts than the ones attributed to them when they start; and thinking about stepping in for his son, likely wasn’t at the top of his list. Regardless, I will say it again, that is not the point; the point is have you considered what you would do?
It is easy for me to say I am disappointed in Biden and his decision; but I guarantee you, if my son were facing prison time, I would be thinking hard about how to help him; wouldn’t you? Should we expect more from the president than we would expect of ourselves? I don’t know, it is an honest question, not a leading one. It is common for people to say, “God, family and country are my priorities, in that order.” Given that, is it okay for all of us to follow that creed and expect the president to act differently? Like I said, I don’t know. And because I don’t know I have a hard time imagining what I would do if I were in Biden’s position and facing the same dilemma; he could have fulfilled his often-repeated pledge and put country first by not pardoning Hunter, or he could do what he did and put his family first.
The president faces hard decisions, very hard decisions; that is their job. I suspect this was a very hard decision for Biden, and I know it would be impossibly difficult for me. I believe in tradition, the rule of law, the sanctity of our institutions, and the importance of the president following their oath; I believe that with all my being; I also believe in family.
So having spent two weeks thinking about this, I don’t know what I would do. I know, no matter what I think today about what I would do, I am only guessing and no amount of convincing myself of my certainty changes the fact, that when faced with reality, all bets are off; and I bet if you could get inside Biden’s thoughts, you would see a similar path; he was in a no-win situation.
Maybe the takeaway from this is I need to allow myself to be more understanding of decisions I don’t like when the person making the call is stuck in a lousy place. I wish he hadn’t pardoned his son; I wish he didn’t need to; I wish our country wasn’t dealing with partisan agendas determined to attack. But wishing for something is folly; we are where we are, and Biden was where he was, and he did what he did. I don’t like it, but I understand it; do you? What would you have done?
