The day after Donald Trump was promoted to President-Elect of the United States, I took part in an hour-long podcast during which the host, Joe Weidinger, asked me a variety of quirky questions. I did pretty well until he asked:

“What is the first thing you would do if you ruled the world?”

After some stuttering starts, I mumbled something about doing lots of listening.

I later remembered that most high-level leaders set boundaries to structure their listening through what they do and say; indeed, that’s one of the purposes of a president’s inaugural address.

So if I were in President-Elect Trump’s shoes, my inaugural speech might go something like this:

“Fellow citizens:

“It is both an honor and a bit intimidating to begin my journey as your leader. While I won the election, I know that I lost the general election by the biggest margin in history. I understand that some of you have committed to do everything you can to prevent me from being successful.

“I do hope that we can continue to work towards policies on which most of us agree: reforming the criminal justice and healthcare systems, as well as the business tax code, to promote fairness, effectiveness, and efficiency. We need to come together to find a way to address a dangerously unstable world.

“However, the primary concern that unites us is the sense that the big government-big business-big military-big religion matrix has become way too powerful. We can begin addressing this by simplifying the tax code while eliminating the slew of deductions, government giveaways, and backroom deals that this matrix has come to expect. We should support small businesses to thrive, as they are the main source of job creation and innovation.

“More importantly, however, we should do a better job of giving more power to state and local governments after giving them clear goals to which they will be held responsible.

“Of course, there are limitations. The federal government has a constitutional obligation to create a level playing field for everyone, especially for businesses and those from underrepresented groups.

“Giving more power to the states can be problematic.

“Suppose a close friend with a disability faces constant discrimination, and the state isn’t willing to take action?

“Or suppose you are pro-life and live in a state where abortion is difficult to obtain, and a clinic from a state where abortions are easier to get floods your airwaves with ads encouraging women to visit this out-of-state clinic?

“Or suppose pollution caused in part because of a state’s unwillingness to address the problem affects those living in other states?

“Or suppose citizens from a given state suffer significantly because of irresponsible actions of local government officials?

“How should the federal government respond in each of these situations?

“Yet pushing power downward seems crucial, even inevitable. More and more businesses are removing bureaucratic layers with generally positive results.

“And we no longer live in the 1990s where people could live quite comfortably without turning on a computer. Now, cloud computers and the networks they spawn, 3D printers, apps, self-driving cars, and other high-tech gadgets are revolutionizing the way we live our lives — eliminating jobs while creating others while making products and services more affordable.

“Agility is key to address the challenges of this new age, and local governments have a better shot of moving more quickly to realign programs to support each of us to adjust to these turbulent times. How do we educate our kids? How do we jigger government programs to a future where jobs might be scarcer and require new skills? How do these technologies change healthcare, transportation, and the military? And how do we regulate this human-technology meld in ways that benefit the most people while reminding us not to submerge our humanity to computers that, through algorithms, can perform ever-more complicated tasks?

“We can start by remembering that computers cannot love.

“And what is love?

“To quote a Shaker song:

“Love is little, love is low;
Love will make our spirits grow.
Grow in peace, grow in light;
Love will do the thing that’s right.

“That’s what makes us human.

“So let our love shine forth as we, with the help of our Creator, strive to make America more magnificent.

“Thanks for listening.

“And now I resign.”

To listen to an arrangement of “Love Is Little,” please visit

For those who want to hear my overly verbose podcast interview, please visit