Inauguration Day

I’m passing time this morning. The news is running in the background while I wait to watch our 45th president-elect take the oath of office. I skipped the past 2 inaugurations, didn’t want to watch even though they were historic. I didn’t vote for President Obama. I think I’d enjoy having dinner with him and I definitely like his wife, she’s classy, but I didn’t see him as Presidential material. Academics don’t make good Presidents in my opinion. They are more theory based than pragmatic so the country becomes an experimental petri-dish of mixed bag policies vs a governed nation-in my humble opinion.

I planned to skip this inauguration, I didn’t vote for Donald Trump, (Hillary either). I found him egregiously profane, inadequate as a moral example, unworthy of the office (my standards have dropped considerably) and I found him unreliable in his rhetoric. I don’t believe he’s racist or misogynistic though you wouldn’t know it from his tweets. As the campaign slugged away for EVER, I found myself becoming more entrenched in the Never Trump camp. I felt justified, slept well with my choice. I was extremely disenfranchised by the Christian Right’s endorsement of him, feeling like they abandoned everything they ever stood for. I still do. Never was I more surprised than when he won. I entirely underestimated the voting populous. (Bruce–“Not me!”)

So now we come to election day. I’ve repented for not watching former inaugurations. I’ve changed my mind about this one. The enormity of what is about to happen is unprecedented. 5 million people voted to blow up Washington and it’s elitist slave masters. I don’t for a minute believe they are all racist or comfortable with it, or that they are ignorant, misogynistic, haters, LGBT bashers, anti-feminist, uneducated, fascist, right wing Christians Evangelicals. There was a piece on ABC last night highlighting Black American’s for Trump. It was an interesting blip, wish they’d spent more time talking about it. You have to catch these moments quick, like looking for a gas station on a country highway and passing it the nanosecond that you blink. The media is actively waiting for this president to fail spectacularly, ESPECIALLY Hollywood. I’ve reached new depths of loathing when it comes to them both.

I find myself shouting at TV news, barking at the papers, my FB feed and the celebrity rags that I read when I’m keeping appointments. Never in my memory has the media opposition to a president-elect been so hateful. Don’t even get me started on the hypocrisy of Hollywood when it come to the things they attack him about. I realize he started it, but when they purify their own ranks of sexism, racism and bullying maybe they earn the right to lob insults in reply. And that doesn’t even touch the profanity, immorality and perversion that permeates their insular culture. One thing that frightens me is how the next generation gathers its news from late night comedians, as if it’s complete truth! I thought we taught them to distinguish fiction from truth when we dissed Santa Claus, read the Bible and took them to church! I can only hope they experience tremendous tax relief over the next 4 years and job opportunities they never dreamed of. Maybe they’ll see a connection…I doubt it.

I will mention one contentious Presidential appointment, Betsy DeVoss. Anyone who has ever been a victim of government education will love this woman. There are many victims out there, including ones in highly ranked, well funded, tony neighborhood, government schools. We were nominal victims. I found my self esteem suffering every time I interacted with an educator. I encountered a patronizing attitude when I entered a school. THEY were experts when it came to educating children. THEY knew what was best for my child 8 hours a day. I was simply a mother, wife, birther. Betsy DeVoss is bringing napalm and nukes to the entrenched system of elitist, slavish government education. I say, bring it on. Who cares if she’s ever attended one, maybe she’s actually educated. Who cares if she’s rich and Christian? There are laws in place to keep her potentially aggressive faith agenda in check (though I don’t believe its an issue). Her hard and fast support for all school choice is exactly what the system needs-HUUUGELY. Detroit’s students in charter schools do 60% better on standardized tests than their government school counterparts and she had a hand in that.

Nuff said.

If President Trump is able to accomplish even 1/4th of the things he’s bragged about it will revolutionize our country and Washington for decades. To me, the message is clear, Americans are fed up with the status quo and it’s logjam robbing of the middle class. I don’t believe they were ready for the socialist agenda of Bernie Sanders but his presidency would have also brought a revolution. His successful campaign was an indicator of the discontent on the political left and it lends significant credibility to the weariness of voters’ frustration with Washington’s self protecting, agenda. This inauguration, more than any in the past is as close to a bloodless political revolution that our generation has seen. That we can accomplish it peacefully, again, is a testimony to our way of choosing government. For that I feel a sense of duty to observe it.

The peaceful transfer of power…the phrase that codifies our inauguration days throughout history. It’s an enormous legacy of our representative republic, we should all be proud of the example it presents to the world. Our divided views only highlight how profound this transfer is.

May we continue to do justly, love mercy and walk humbly as we evaluate, speak, dialog and hold this new administration accountable with the power of our votes.