I’ll be among those not celebrating Donald Trump’s inauguration.
I’m not happy about my lack of enthusiasm for one of our nation's major civic events. But I’ve not been able to shake the sense that I don’t understand my country anymore.
I grew up learning that the worst thing you could do to our democracy is try to overthrow it. Last November half our country said with their vote that they don’t care about that.
I’m aware (and still stunned) that some would consider what I just wrote a controversial paragraph. So I’m amazed I’ll need to state clearly that the man elected president called a mob to Washington to overthrow the government on Jan. 6, 2021. He watched on TV as they threatened to kill the vice president and actually beat the living daylights out of law enforcement. More than 140 police were injured. More than 900 rioters have been convicted of crimes committed in connection with the attack on the Capitol. Trump is calling them patriots and promising to quickly pardon at least some of them.
The United States is torn apart
To me, Jan. 6 disqualified Trump from the presidency. The campaigns last year featured a lot of important issues: The price of eggs, the need for immigration reform, crime, foreign policy. All are topics for legitimate debate. Unapologetic leadership of a violent coup is not.
Clearly, half the country disagrees with me. The scary part about that is that half the country also agrees with me. We’re torn apart.
As I watched the election returns on Nov. 5, even when I had hopes Kamala Harris would win, the stark map of red and blue states worried me. It showed that the United States has a problem. It’s not united.
Yes, I was hoping for a president who campaigned on a promise of being president for everyone. The winner, however, doesn’t act interested in the half of the country that voted against him.
Trump has vowed to prosecute high-profile people who opposed him. He scoffs at global warming, one of my top issues facing the world. I detect only contempt for immigrants from the incoming officeholders. Yet my Christian faith calls me to have compassion for refugees fleeing war and other violence.
As a lifelong citizen of this country I might expect at least a passing nod to my values. Instead, I feel scorn.
Tuning out news about Trump and national politics
While Jan. 20 will be a joyous occasion for the more than 77 million who voted for Trump, for more than 75 million of us it will be a day where our beliefs and priorities will only be targets of ridicule.
I see the endless stream of post-election analysis headlines about how the Democrats screwed up this way and that. How Republicans got this right and that right. But I don’t read those stories. None of that seems to matter when I seem so out of touch with so many of my neighbors.
I’m not alone in tuning out. Since the election, ratings for the liberal-leaning MSNBC cable channel fell about 50%. Even the more moderate CNN was down by about 40%. The Trump-supporting Fox News saw ratings rise more than 20% — happy to revel, I suppose, in victory for their side.
I try to lead a life of hope and optimism, but that’s a struggle today. There are good works to pursue. Our own Louisville Metro Council can use encouragement to fulfill its renewable energy resolution calling for 100% clean power by 2040. We can try to find solutions to care for people in our city who can’t afford a place to live. My wife has donated to organizations that rescue pets from the California fires. More broadly we can watch for ways to encourage kindness and respect toward each other.
It makes me sad to feel that such hopes are the best I can do in a world I’m having trouble understanding.
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