I was visiting my 84-year-old mother this morning and she said something so wise…”Trump wasn’t even a good millionaire; why would anyone think he can be a good President?”

My mom was born downright…that no-doubt-about-it kind of poor. Both of my parents grew up on the plantations in South Georgia and both left as soon as they were able. I remember my beautiful mother cleaning homes and taking care of other folks’ children while my father was fighting a war in Vietnam. They didn’t have college degrees, but my mother often reminisced about her dream of someday attending college. She didn’t make it to college, but she made sure I kept her dream alive.

Today my mom owns a beautiful home and lives a comfortable quiet life. She is not wealthy, but she is certainly not poor. My parents worked and they worked hard for everything they acquired in their lives. There was no inheritance. They didn’t steal or cheat. They didn’t build their lives by stepping over or on people. They didn’t have parents who could bail them out…they just survived. When called to service, my dad did not think about getting out of serving. I know he thought about the Jim Crow laws he was still living under during those times, but he didn’t think of not serving. You see, with all of its imperfections, this was his country. This was his home…all he knew.

Their story is the story of most Americans. That is what my mother meant this morning.  You see most of us can only imagine what it would be like to be born wealthy. Most of us grew up in communities where if we somehow acquired wealth, our first thought would be how we can make the lives of our family, our friends, and others in our community better…not golden toilets, beautiful women, or unscrupulously growing our wealth. Most of us would be careful and measured in our steps…sure we might run out splurge a bit, but we wouldn’t waste a fortune. Not all of us, but most of us. You see we work too hard to be haphazard with our money. That is not all Americans, but most.

I’ve served in the military, worked in a manufacturing plant, and been employed in social services. I’ve seen what the middle class and poor do to make their lives better. I’ve seen how they work, work together, grow, and prosper. I’ve them seen them fall and get back up and go at it again. I’ve seen how honest most are and have always been. I’ve seen how they take care of their families. I’ve seen how some pursue their education, not to be rich but to be nurses, teachers, and doctors…or electricians, paralegals, or LPN’s.

The other day, my daughter said one of her instructor’s asked did they think Americans had embraced domestic violence as ordinary political speech? I was quite pleased with her answer…our young people are paying attention, they are hopeful, and engaged…although some are truly struggling. “While I do not believe the nation has “embraced” violence as an ordinary form of speech, I do believe there is more leniency for it. My fear is that this leniency blurs the lines for what is and what is not legal, and for what is and is not just.”

My own fears are far more encompassing although similar. My fear is that the same leniency has blurred the lines between honesty, truth, humanity, empathy, love, neighbors, fair-dealing, learning, leadership, courage, and democracy.

I guess I’m like most Americans…born not so wealthy but not willing to lie, steal, and cheat others to realize the American dream. I am so much my mother’s daughter. And, so much my father’s, too.