Climate change and clean politics

Elizabeth Solomon writes a weekly column for the Newsday. 

Distrusting the agenda of politicians is a common refrain the world over. There are precious few leaders whose integrity defines their leadership style and often this happens in retrospect, even posthumously. Politicians are individuals who, by definition, put themselves into the firing line for criticism. The more responsibility that political leaders acquire, the more treacherous the tight rope they walk between dealing with complex conflicting realities and integrity.

Furthermore, the expansion of social media and the retraction of boundaries of civility and, frankly, professionalism of many traditional media outlets have put even greater pressure on politicians to demonstrate clear and transparent decision making. It is a good thing, of course. The stuff that makes for sound democratic governance; but for political leaders it must feel like they are walking that emblematic tight rope in hurricane force winds.

None of this muse should suggest a lowering of our guard with respect to measuring political leaders against the highest possible standards. Rather, to help us be clear and fair in our measurement standards, and to unravel the powerful image that appeared in the media recently of all five living past presidents of the US jointly pledging a commitment to supporting the hurricane-ravaged areas of Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands.

Even for non-Americans, the image of the five former presidents, hands to heart, singing the national anthem was poignant. The organisers of the event have made no pretence about the value-added of past presidents’ appeal to fund-raising. As one AP report pointed out, “Presidents have the most powerful and prolific fund-raising base of any politician in the world. When they send out a call for help, especially on something that’s not political, they can rake in big money.”

In fact, there is precedent for former presidents joining forces for post-disaster fund-raising. George HW Bush and Bill Clinton raised money together after the 2004 South Asia tsunami and Hurricane Katrina the next year. Clinton and George W Bush combined to seek donations after Haiti’s 2011 earthquake.

There was something bigger at play here though, a message, yes, that some things always trump politics but also a message about Donald Trump’s politics. Both former Republican president George W Bush and former Democrat president Barack Obama went to the fund-raising event having very recently made condemnatory statements about the current style of divisive politics. Both men breaking a tradition of former presidents not criticising sitting presidents. Clinton also saying pointedly that the calamitous impact of the hurricanes could be a new beginning “if we just do what we ought to do … without regard to race or religion or political party.”

Even president Jimmy Carter, whose public sympathies for Trump’s ongoing battles with the media reflect the difficulties he had with the media during his tenure in the White House, called for unity and giving back as the tenets of America’s greatness. Their joint presence on stage spoke to their willingness, and indeed their ability as leaders, to step beyond their individual differences to declare their common purpose, a more unified nation.

None of these leaders were without reproach while they were sitting presidents. In fact, their performances in responding to climate change imperatives were, to a man, unsatisfactory. Perhaps there was some slim chance that better leadership on clean energy and environmental protection may have mitigated the unprecedented scale of destruction we now experience from storms made more potent by rising sea and air temperatures. Yet, despite their foibles in office, they have all retained great potential for collective leadership around a common cause at a time of immense national need. By demonstrating their capacity to step back from divisive politics they encourage their individual constituencies to do the same.

This country is no different. Divisive politics impacts as profoundly on the citizens of TT as it does elsewhere. The difficulties that large numbers of Trinidadians find themselves in because of extensive flooding are not resolved through mudslinging. Surely there are leaders in our midst willing to join forces for the common cause of nation building.