Today is January 20th, 2025, Inauguration Day, which, by all accounts, should be a peaceful turnover of power from the current democratic president to a recycled republican president (yes, the lower cases are intentional).
It would be really nice, if we could say this is the 46th peaceful turnover of power, but unfortunately, we cannot. As we all know, the then president Trump spent months sowing the seeds for what eventually happened on January 6th, 2021. Let us not forget that stain on our country.
Mr. Trump’s theme is supposedly “unity, strength and fairness.” I’ll believe it when I see it.
There is a good piece in the New York Times, by Clyde McGrady and Rick Rojas, that talks about the convergence of Martin Luther King Day, and the 47th Presidential inauguration. I will ask that you check out their article “The Search for Lessons in Trump’s Return on Martin Luther King Day – The New York Times”, it is a good read, and good food for thought.
I will not spend time going over my political views, they are irrelevant to today’s events. Our system of participation in elections, and how we react to the results, is just as important as voting our views at the ballot box. I would like to state we only have one (1) president, and they are president of all in the country for the next four years.
For my Republican friends: Yes, Mr. Trump will be our new president in the next few hours. I will remind my friends in red, that the president leads the entire country, not just those who have voted for him/her. The Republican party should NOT seek retribution upon those in the prior administration, nor support the erasure of Mr. Trumps past crimes for which he was convicted. The republicans should respect the views of the democrats, and not take the position of “we won/you lost.” That view will only make things worse; for all.
For my Democratic friends: Mrs. Harris didn’t win the election. People voted, the votes were counted, and Mr. Trump won the electoral (and popular) votes. In short, get over it. Mr. Trump will be OUR president in a few short hours. With that being said, the party not in power, traditionally takes the role of the “loyal opposition.” It is an important aspect of our democratic system that there be loyal opposition, to highlight shortcomings of bad policy.
To the 535 members of Congress: I remind you all, there are THREE legs of government, of which Congress is one and has responsibility to provide oversight of the executive branch. You were elected to run the country for all citizens, not just for those who elected you.
I’m currently watching the buildup to the inauguration network television, as I do not have cable anymore, only over-the-air television. And quite frankly, I don’t care for the cable programs “spin” on the various cable networks.
I truly believe in this great experiment, but I am still a bit charred on my ass from January 6th, 2021 (see my article- “Sometimes it’s just better to be silent”); as it is a dark stain on our country. I have to give Mr. Pence a great amount of respect. His belief in the greater good is undaunting. For the advisors surrounding Mr. Trump, I hope that you have the courage to do what is right, and provide guidance that is good for the country, and are not just “yes” men/women.
For our newly elected president, I truly wish you well. Previous history leads me to believe that you will put yourself above the country and I hope you prove me wrong. Either way, the next four years ought to be pretty sporty.
Resources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/20/us/politics/trump-martin-luther-king.html
ABC/NBC/CBS/Fox news via OTA antenna.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/our-government/the-legislative-branch
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