The American President

I can remember when I was a little boy, just beginning to understand the profundity of the American President.  The first president I can recall was Ronald Reagan.  As a child I had no ideology, I didn’t care about budget shortfalls or tax policy.  I wasn’t concerned with Iran/Contra.  I didn’t have an appreciation for the blind eye he bore against the HIV/AIDS pandemic.  Whether Reagan was beginning the trickle-down economics of the 80’s, invading Grenada, or trading weapons for hostages, it was of no matter.  I was enamored with the prestige and regal nature of our President.  I was taught from an early age that the presidency was more than just a man. The office of the President of the United States was transcendent.  It was a position to be honored.  I remember watching President Reagan meeting with Gorbachev.  I remember the wonder of watching this man, our leader, our President, trudging through the tundra of the Cold War.  He projected the strength and resolve of a nation.

I use President Reagan as an example, because his ideology is something that I find repugnant.  He allowed things to happen during his administration that put a blight on American values and tradition.  His actions and lack thereof, had long-lasting, detrimental repercussions. I believe he condemned an entire generation of gay men to death.  He enacted domestic policies that exacerbated the socioeconomic divide in this nation.  He engaged in a plethora of policy prescriptions that hurt many Americans.  What he didn’t engage in was pettiness.  He didn’t act like an enraged toddler every time someone was critical of his actions.  He comported himself with maturity & rational thought.

The respect for the office of the Presidency was long considered sacrosanct.  However, that reverence has eroded.   The 2^nd Bush White House lied to the American people to cajole us into an unnecessary war.  They fleeced the middle class by unfair tax policy, unethical financial policy, and an avoidable collapse of our economy.  Then it was questioning the first minority President’s fidelity to this country.  Questioning his citizenship & patriotism became commonplace.  The nation’s first African-American president derided and jeered.  The accusations were as preposterous as the people making them.  The man leading that pack, sadly, took the oath of office just days ago.

Donald Trump became the 45^th President of the United States two days ago.  He took the same oath that every US President has taken since Washington.  He swore to ‘protect and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.’  His hand upon 2 holy books, promised to ‘faithfully discharge the duties’ of the office of the President of the United States.  In his brief Inaugural speech, he spoke of themes that were very dark & dystopian. His über nationalist sentiment reminded a nation of a frightening time. His isolationism and ‘America First’ ideology is an antiquated and destructive notion. It’s a chilling reminder of the House Committee on Un-American Activities in the 50’s, McCarthyism, and the Hollywood Blacklist.  That witch hunt for supposed communists tore this country in many places.  Division and specious accusations seem to be the preferred tools for this President.  A sad statement for the country Reagan called the “shining city on a hill.”

We now have a President that doesn’t seem interested in anything but controlling his personal image and lining his already full pockets.  In the 2 brief days since his occupancy of the Oval Office, he sent his Press Secretary out to lie about the number of people attending the inauguration.  He spoke at the memorial wall at CIA, seemingly to applaud the work of our intelligence community.  Instead, he did something as petty as rehash the election results and directly suggest that everyone in the room probably voted for him… but he wasn’t asking those that didn’t to identify themselves.  He did all of this in front of the very intelligence community that he has railed against since the revelation of Russian involvement in the US elections.  He has threatened media outlets by denying access to the White House Press Corps.  He’s even suggested moving it out of the White House.  This President has sent a very clear message in his first 2 days in office:   He has no intention of fulfilling his oath to protect and defend the Constitution.  In fact, he’s already taking steps to violate it.  This is who occupies the highest office in the land.  This man, who is arguably the most powerful on Earth, leads this great nation.  The question is:  Will this nation maintain its greatness under the leadership of this self-obsessed, petty, emotionally immature, racist, misogynistic, xenophobic, homophobic, blow hard?

We must look to ourselves for the answers.  For the true power is with the people.  Only when we turn our backs, when we ignore, when we think it doesn’t affect us…  It is only then that we are truly at risk of destruction.   It may sound quaint.  It may even seem a bit overly optimistic.  But it is enshrined in our governing documents, that this country has a government OF the people, BY the people, and FOR the people.  They also remind us that when the boot of tyranny is reigning on the collective neck of the people; we must throw off the yolk of that tyranny with a new government.  We are the last vanguard, protecting ourselves against despotism of any from.  From silencing the media to stamping on the rights of individuals, we must ensure our constitutional destiny.  We, the people, are truly the ones with the power to change course. 

I have faith in this country.  I have faith in its people.  I have faith in this experiment in democracy that has lasted over 250 years.  We are one nation, indivisible.  We must remember that… Now, more than ever.