We have spoken about getting to the root of middos. So I would like to get to the root of one of our President's middos. I am sure he would be thrilled to hear that he is the subject of this post:-).
This might surprise you but President Trump has a penchant for insulting people:-). He basically insulted his way to the White House. People view him as lacking tact. He clearly does. Others think that he is a bad person. Here is where I differ and have an insight that could help us deal with difficult people [like ourselves:-)]. He is no tzadik. No doubt about it. But he is not evil.
I noticed that almost whenever he attacks it is because he feels threatened. He attacks the press because he feels threatened when they attack and criticize him. He attacked his opponents for the President because he felt threatened by them. I am not justifying his vitriol. [This is in part because I don't know what "vitriol" means]. I am just saying that he doesn't do it because he is a malicious person. I am sure that inside as he is saying these things he doesn't feel good about it or about himself. He wants to feel that he is a good person [most people do besides reshaim, sociopaths and psychopaths]. But he never learned a healthier way to deal with his fear of being attacked so he adopted the "insult the perceived aggressor" and saw that it worked for him on some level. It is sad but that is the way he learned to be.
The lesson for us: When people close to us are being insulting it has NOTHING TO DO WITH US but with their own feelings at the present moment. Maybe they are tired, frustrated, feeling unloved or uncared for, hurt, etc. etc. Most people we know are not evil. We all have evil in us but that is usually not the dominant feature. Underneath the rough exterior often lies a scared and scarred human being.
That should help us be more understanding.
