Today is the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States.
The day has arrived. A day that very few expected would ever happen.
Whether you’re a supporter or not, you must admit that Donald Trump is unique. The first person elected president without having served in either political office or in the military. The wealthiest president. And certainly one of the most controversial.
Running as a Republican, Trump wasn’t embraced by either party. He pulled off both an unexpected primary victory as well as his win in the general election. He is truly an independent. And when you couple this independence with his propensity for bombastic speech and an affinity for expressing his every thought through Twitter, it’s no wonder people are scared. They don’t know what to expect.
And in a country already divided, that fear has led to two schools of thought.
In one camp are the nationalists. Those who support Mr. Trump and his agenda. This group strongly believes that after eight years and even sixteen years, they are at last in a position to get their interests heard.
At the same time, there is the group that wants nothing to do with a President Trump. They believe he ran a campaign based on hate and the targeting of specific ethnic groups. And they feel his agenda will move the country in the wrong direction.
All of this has created a challenging environment.
The other day, we received a message from my children’s school about watching the inauguration. Generally, an inauguration provides a great teaching moment. But because of such strong opposition to President Trump, the school was rethinking whether they would broadcast the inauguration.
The head of school had reached out to other schools and the predominant decision was that they would not be showing the inauguration.
I am very disappointed with this decision. Whether you agree with his politics or even whether you think Donald Trump is fit to be president is mostly irrelevant. He was elected and will be president. And while no one should be forced to participate or watch the inauguration, it should certainly be an option.
I am happy to say that the Head of my children’s school decided to go the other direction and will make the inauguration available for the students to watch.
I appreciate that this wasn’t an easy decision as the school probably has more anti-Trump constituents than not. But despite that pressure, I am pleased to see the decision to put education and experience over personal feelings and political pressure.
Readers, will you be watching the inauguration despite your own political beliefs?
FS,
I have to admit, I NEVER thought this day would come. I am not a Trump supporter but it bothered me that so many Democrats boycotted the inauguration. You should have a little respect for the office of the President of the United States. You don’t have to like him, support him, or be happy about his election but as Americans we should all be pulling for him to succeed. It baffles me how people ‘take their ball and go home’ when they don’t get their way. If I have to look at another picture of an ultra liberal crying hysterically because he won, I am going lose it. Get a grip people ! Remember it is never as bad as it seems and it is never as good as it seems. The truth always lies somewhere in the middle. He may not be the best President when all is said and done but he also may not be the worst. Let’s wait and see how it plays out. I for one, am willing to give him a chance and see how it plays out. His success is my success. Thanks for being brave to post on this topic!
-Brian (self proclaimed Moderate !)
Thanks for commenting, Brian.
Politics is always a touchy subject. But if we can’t openly discuss these things, we’ll never make any progress.
I’ve said that this election more than any other in recent history provided a great teaching opportunity for schools. I just hope they were willing to put aside their own biases and discuss the issues, the people, and the reactions.
I’m pretty sure there will continue to be some strong reactions from everyone over the coming years.