Inauguration

Today was the day our 45th President was inaugurated. Sadly, it was full of protests and riots in DC. I'm glad we were no where near the chaos and violence.

Someone set the limo on fire. pic.twitter.com/y4AFr5HNjk

— Matt Pearce (@mattdpearce) January 20, 2017

A friend of mine took video from his office at the Washington Post that included the above limo on fire. It looked like something from another country, another world. This is something I said elsewhere, in response to someone's corporate analogy about why "half the country is unhappy, but it bears repeating :

"Honestly, I think that more than half the country is unhappy, and it's a bit more complicated than just your analogy. The government as a whole has been increasingly divided, going at least back to the Clinton administration when there was an attempt to impeach him over the Monica Lewinsky stuff and his perjury. Since then, things between the White House and Congress have become worse and worse, to the point where the workings of government essentially grind to a halt for ridiculous "investigations" that go on and on and on, because the investigators' beliefs aren't verified by the results (see "Benghazi" and "Clinton emails" for the most recent examples). Neither side is immune to this bullshit; the Democrats did it when GW was in office, but the most recent GOP roadblocks are in the forefront since we've had a Democrat in the White House for the past eight years. 

I don't like Trump, I don't think he has the makings of a good President, but that doesn't mean I want him to fail, because I think Pence is even worse. Additionally, a failure of a President is a failure for the entire country. However, I don't see him being able to "Make America Great Again" because the definition of "great" for far too many is a return to a dark time where "coloreds knew their place" (something I've heard vocalized WAY too much lately), where "them faggots get what they deserve" (meaning that LGBT+ people can have the "gay" beaten out of them, electroshocked out of them, or just beaten up because they are different -- again, something I have heard with my own ears at work, in public, etc.), and generally an unenlightened America where big business fat cats get fatter and the working man trudges along with no real light on the horizon. 

Additionally, the man's compatriots do not necessarily have his vision in mind; the GOP didn't want him as a nominee, but when it looked like he could win, then they started to tentatively embrace him. Look at all those waffles who degraded him who are now trying to worm their way into his favor and inner circle, including Romney, Cruz and Rubio. I don't see much happening Trump's "way" in the next two years, and the result is going to be a Congressional swing back to the left in the next (midterm) election."

No one wants to give.

No one wants to compromise.

It's been "my way or the highway" for far too long, both in government and in society. There is no longer any "gray area," just a vicious ying-yang of perceived right/wrong where everyone just fights each other over everything instead of trying to understand someone else's point of view, much less trying to reach a middle ground.

You can be patriotic, yet still understand why others see the American flag as a symbol of their oppression. Keep in mind that the American flag was the flag of the South up until the Civil War, and even through the first part of the 20th century, when to have skin that was darkened by melanin meant you couldn't drink from the same water fountains as others, much less ride in the front of the bus. Keep in mind that the American flag was the flag of Custer and countless others, who felt that genocide was the best way to deal with the native peoples of this land. Keep in mind that the American flag was the flag that flew over prison camps that interred Americans of Japanese heritage during World War II.

Trump won on a platform of "Make American Great Again," but as I stated above, I fear that for many Americans, what they feel were the "good old days" are not something we should revisit. For other Americans, I don't think they truly understand that some jobs will not return to this country, ever, and other manufacturing returning to the US will mean an increase in consumer costs. It's a basic scientific principle; for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. In even simpler terms, there are consequences for actions.

Is the American public ready for the consequences of a Trump administration?

Be the change you want to see. If you're happy with Trump, his cabinet choices, the GOP Congress' actions, how people act in the name of Trump and/or how people act in defiance of Trump, then keep sitting there, smiling smugly. But if you want something to happen differently, use your brain. Search out unbiased sources, join a movement, help out at a shelter, make donations, run for office.

Do something. Please.