So today, the 47th president of the United States of America will be sworn in. This should be a day for celebrating our American tradition of a peaceful transfer of political power from one leader to another. Our peaceful transfer of power that has been the foundational principle of our nation for 233 years.
With one exception. That exception was our last presidential transfer in 2001. During that transfer, the outgoing President launched an autocoup to overturn election results and remain in power, against the will of us voters. That president failed to overturn the results. But he was never held accountable for destroying our legacy of peaceful transfer of power, nor of attempting to overturn the will of us voters.
Today, that man is once again taking power as our president. In any other nation, he would be in jail – or executed. That he is now returning to power is our American day of shame for those of us who still believe in Democracy.
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My Distress
There isn’t much I can do as one person to change things. This humble blog, that I use to occasionally post my political commentary, is my way of taking a public position. It’s not much, but it’s what I can do at my station in life. I’m leaving it to other people to organize Americans into a resistance against the lifelong con-man, convicted felon, adjudicated rapist, and twice-impeached treasonous miscreant. Who, today, will defile our nation by taking the oath of office of President of the United States of America. With the blessings of 49.6 percent of voting Americans.
As a veteran, I feel betrayed. I spent twenty-two years defending America against “all enemies foreign and domestic.” Only to see that people I once defended have voted a domestic enemy into our White House. I now wonder why the fuck I ever bothered to stay in the Navy. I wonder why I ever felt proud of defending this nation.
My Inspiration
All I can offer on our day of American shame is some music to inspire those of us who feel as I do. So on this day, where one political party has gained power through dividing Americans, appealing to our worst instincts, and promises to rule by harming the most vulnerable among us; I offer this powerful piece of music by the group Heart. May we come through the next few years as a nation united, and do better in our future choices of political leadership.
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