Looking for good leadership

The phrase “we’re all in this together” is the new rallying cry for the majority of us who are doing what we can to help control the spread of the coronavirus. We practice social distancing, don’t hoard and avoid crowded gatherings. We also look to the heads of our governments for viable leadership.

Many governors, Republicans and Democrats, took the lead by instituting self-quarantining in an attempt to lessen the effect of the illness.

What about President Trump? After denying science for weeks, he told us that the Centers for Disease Control recommends wearing masks in public. He then said he probably wouldn’t wear one. That’s not good leadership. Public gatherings are banned, yet in March the president held a 900-person fundraising event along with a 200-person birthday party for his son’s girlfriend. He and his friends and family are doing things the rest of us are not supposed to. With millions of Americans without a paycheck, lavish presidential parties certainly do not demonstrate good leadership.

When Jared Kushner, who’s only governmental qualification is that he’s the president’s son-in-law, informed the country that “The notion of the federal stockpile is that it’s supposed to be our stockpile. It’s not supposed to be states’ stockpiles that they then use.” What does that mean? Who does he mean by “our”? That should mean “U.S.” That would be good leadership.

If, indeed, we are all in this together, we all deserve competent and compassionate federal guidance. I’m wondering if that’s possible.

— Steve Bass, Bakersfield