Bigly Inaugurated

I watched the inauguration today, the pomp, and some of the circumstance.

In his speech, President Trump painted an exceptionally bleak picture of America. Did you realize we were living in a District-12-level festering hole of despair? I assume this imagery was evoked so that in 8 months, even if nothing’s changed, he can proudly announce that America is great because he made it great again.

It’s like a teacher my daughter once had who purposely gave his students insufficient time to complete a standardized test at the beginning of the year so he could show that they had all experienced “growth” by the end of the year.

I guess, “America is Already Awesome but Let’s Make it Slightly Better in Spite of Ourselves” wouldn’t fit on a baseball cap no matter how high the dome.

When did America become not great? Let’s ask the millions of immigrants who want to come here and join us. We are a great country. With flaws.

Just like I’m a great lady, who can be a little crazy, and chubby, and intolerant of dandelions. I may need to meditate and lose a few pounds but I’m still totally great. I could always be greater. And hopefully with some love and care I’ll get that way.

Same with America. Let’s Make America Greater Some More.

Also, and thusly, I’d like to point out that you can’t give a completely divisive speech and then say the word “unity” and think you’re going to bring the country together. That’s not how it works. I’ve read the instruction manual.

I didn’t vote for Donald Trump. I loudly did not vote for him and I encouraged others not to vote for him as well. On the interwebs. In person. Waving banners over the freeway.

On the news.

And at a podium on the steps of the Washington State capitol building.

But he won the election and I passionately support our democracy and freedom and I respect our processes. He is the president of the United States of America. He is my president because I am a proud citizen of this country.

Wanda was grumbling about Donald Trump on the way to school today, not because she really knows anything about him, but because apparently grumbling about Donald Trump is a popular thing among first graders this season. She hears people talking smack about him all the time and we don’t spend time building him up around the dinner table.

So, today I just told her, “We aren’t going to speak disrespectfully about Donald Trump. We’re going to refer to him as President Trump in our family because we respect the office of the president. And we can criticize his policies or behavior, but we’re going to do it kindly and respectfully. We’re not just going to rip on him for fun.”

My opinion of him as a human being and my confidence in his ability to lead effectively have not improved since his election. I hope he can do well. I will support his good actions and speak out when he is wrong. I will continue to research candidates and vote my conscience.

And I have hope for our country because it is bigger than one person and his litany of mean tweets.

I’ve been reading Chrenow’s biography of Alexander Hamilton and it’s encouraging to me. Because the founding fathers we revere so much were not always fabulous. They bickered and fought and attacked each other and somehow still managed to form our great nation.

We’ve also had some less-than-stellar presidents, even some of the early presidents when our country was first forming, and the country has moved on. We are strong because so many people are engaged and lift their voices in passionate disagreement and eventual compromise and reconciliation.

We got this, America. 

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