Archived Opinion

President Trump doesn’t understand volunteerism

President Trump doesn’t understand volunteerism

To the Editor:

It is not hard to find a lot of things to detest about what President Donald Trump says when he attacks the news media, women, Muslims, immigrants, Sen. John McCain, etc., but I was particularly struck by his attack on George H.W. Bush at his speech in Montana. It really hit a nerve for me.

What is it that POTUS does not understand about the former President’s Thousand Points of Light program? It is about volunteerism, a completely apolitical thing that we ALL should support. I actively volunteer in my community and I don’t think that my fellow volunteers care about my politics nor do I care about theirs. We do it because we can and because there is a need for the work that we do.

I can only surmise that POTUS doesn’t get it because he can’t understand why anyone would do anything from which they receive no personal benefit. Americans have historically cared about others, but clearly there is no room in Donald J. Trump’s agenda for volunteerism or generosity.

Kent Stewart

Waynesville

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