Reuniting America

Reuters photo

By

Sami Jamil Jadallah

President-Elect Donald Trump, on the day he won the election promised to be the president of All Americans and he continued to repeat the statement. All of America will hold him to his promise.

America is great now and if President Elect Donald Trump wants to make “America Great Again” then he needs in all earnest to take all the necessary steps to reunite America, heal the wounds and divisions this past presidential election created.

It would be a great gesture if both President Barack Obama and President Elect Donald Trump got together one more time, perhaps on December 12, 2016, (Connie Francis’s Birthday), and declared “Love America Day” calling for a reunited America, with winners and losers in this election joining in celebrating the free spirit that makes America a great country.

America is great not because of its politics or its politicians but because of its people. As my friend Hugh Traulsen once said: “if America is to have a successful future, we must learn to look out for each other, not look at each other.”

The month of December with its special holidays of Christmas and Hanukkah is the right month for both President Barack Osama and President Elect Donald Trump to stand jointly and live up to the spirit that makes America not an exceptional country but a special country, united indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

America is a country of natives, of early immigrants, of recent immigrants, and yes, of “illegal immigrants” a country of many faiths, many colors, and races. A country of a rapidly expanding very rich, vanishing middle class, and an ever increasing poor class, with a very wide gap between Wall Street and Main Street. The recent appointments of a Wall Street executive, millionaires and billionaires, as leading cabinet members does not bode well for those who voted for President Elect Donald Trump, none without exception has shown or been advocate for those who voted Mr. Trump into the White House.

The power corridor of Washington-New York (the swamp) was never friendly to Main Street America, nor has it shown any empathy for the needs, wants or suffering of the very people who voted for Mr. Trump. One would expect that Mr. Trump will appoint a senior cabinet or senior advisor who will be an advocate for all those left behind to drown in the “swamps”.

We are all in the same boat, Republicans, Democrats, Independent, Green, Right, Left or Middle. What we need most at this time is a competent committed captain to lead our ship to safer shores, leaving no one behind. With the exception of the appointment of General Mattis as future Secretary of Defense, the other key appointments leave a big question mark of President Elect Donald Trump’s commitment to “clean the swamps” with strong reference to both Washington and Wall Street, a corridor full of deadly crocodiles and venomous python, the cause of the ills of the nation; job and manufacturing loss, the financial meltdown, the loss of pensions and IRAs, and a deteriorating and falling apart infrastructure, especially the “Shorting of Main Street” of the very people who voted for President Elect Donald Trump with Washington and New York as the masters of the “swamp”.

As a Veteran, with an ailing Veteran brother, I really have serious concerns, if not fears, with floating the name of Sarah Palin as Secretary of Veterans Affairs. The fact she shot a couple of “caribous” does not qualify her to the very demanding job of Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

President Elect Donald Trump must show the same commitment to the active military with his appointment of General Mattis as Secretary of Defense, he must show the same commitment to Veterans by appointing a Veterans’ Veteran as Secretary of Veterans Affairs, not a washout politician. I dare say someone with the same caliber and commitment that Senator Bernie Sanders has shown for the needs and issues of Veterans.

Let us hope for and pray that both President Obama and President Elect Trump will get together one more time on December 12 and call for a Reunited America and declare “Love America Day”.

Sami Jamil Jadallah

Sami is a Palestinian-American immigrated to the US while in high school. He was drafted in the US Army during Vietnam War earning the leadership award from the US Sixth Army Non-Commission Officer Academy.

After honorable discharge, Sami enrolled at Indiana University where he was active in student politics, elected class president, student president and chairman of the Indiana Student Association representing students from all colleges and universities in the State of Indiana.

Sami earned his Bachelor Degree (economics and politics), Master of Public and Environmental Affairs and Doctor of Jurisprudence. After a 2 years stint with a major Wall Street law firm Sami took on the job as general counsel of a major international construction company in Saudi Arabia. As an international legal and business consultant, Sami served as owner representative on major projects such as hotels, conservation foundation, defense, and technology.

In the area of public service, Sami was the founding member of the United Palestinian Appeal, a well known not for profit organization serving the needs of Palestinians refugees with over $100 millions in projects and donations serving 16 years as a trustee.

Sami as founding member and executive director of the New Arab Foundation, a US based Not for Profit Tax Exemp, a think tank (with a mission) and management consulting organization, and is working now on the launching of the Arab Peace Crops inspired by President John F Kennedy’s American Peace Corps.

Sami lives in Fairfax, VA and is married to Dr. Alma Abdul-Hadi Jadallah an international expert in mediations and conflict resolution, they have three children all living and working in Washington DC.