Thoughts on The Trump Inauguration
There weren’t the kinds of numbers at the inauguration we have seen in the past two elections. . This was not the first Black President, or the first woman president. Women obviously were upset about it maybe not being the first woman president by turning out in huge numbers on Saturday to protest . They had all kinds of reasons they felt were legitimate for that turnout, but at the core of it all for at least some the million or more women around the country was the fact that they were deprived of that historic moment.
No, Donald Trump’s crowd was not as big. It is fact. They were the minority this weekend, but they represented a group of Working Americans who have been forgotten, and left in economic stagnation for a long time. On that Friday , fittingly, many of them were working, trying to make ends meet, and generally hoping that the day would not be marred by tragedy from protesters. Yes, those in that minority were making the country go while Washington wanted to party.
The festivities of the day lacked the glamor of the past inaugurations, and the speech was not soaring, but realistic. The day was overcast, much like the mood of the country. The ceremony was simpler and shorter than ones in recent memory. The language was not soaring, nor even partisan, but rather was an ode to the forgotten men , women, and children of this land which took only sixteen minutes to utter. That evening, there were three Inaugural Balls instead of 10. Everything seemed pared down and simpler in comparison to other inaugurals. For a man like Donald Trump who is by all accounts a workaholic, the inauguration seemed like a necessary interruption on what would normally be a work day.
So, we can all agree that we have a divided country, and it has been that way long time before Donald Trump arrived on the scene. He is the product, not the producer of the division. However, his way of doing things flies in the face of “Washingtonian cut their throats but do it nicely politics.” His way does not respect false service to the country while serving one’s self. His way has little respect for lack of concrete accomplishment. In the end, he is anathema to everything we have become comfortable with in politics. He is openly combative, and petty. He is narcissistic, crude, and bombastic. He is prone to using glittering generalities like “beautiful.” President Trump is by all measurement of recent presidents, TOTALLY unpresidential. What Donald Trump does do, however, is to thrive on accomplishment, something that has been sorely missing for ALL citizens in this country for a long time. He understands that if policy is good for some, but bad for others, it is not good policy. He has not built buildings that are livable for one set of people, but not another.
Yes, Donald Trump does start his presidency as the leader of a divided country. No one can dispute that. He lost the popular vote, yet won fairly and decisively by the electoral vote. There are millions who think he is illegitimate, and millions who think he is the saviour of the forgotten man. Compared to the politician we complain about, but have gotten used to, he is the total opposite in what we consider an appropriate leader; an appropriate president, if you will.
So what will heal these divisions? At the end of the day, it will be results and accomplishments, and that is where Trump has lived. Can he do it in DC? Can he do in the world of politics what he has done in the world of business? Really, when you cut away all of the other stuff, this is the burning question. If he does, and can help to do it for all citizens of the country to realize real tangible success, the divisions will close. It’s that simple! …Gary Sutton.
