Why I Will March in Protest of the Inauguration of Donald Trump

Why I Will March In Protest of the Inauguration of Donald Trump

The majority of Americans (52%) did not vote for the man who will be inaugurated on January 20 and who will assume power not only in our nation but in the global arena as well. These Americans do not embrace Trump’s policies (or lack thereof), his crude, simplistic utterances that pass for ideas, or his appeals to the basest human instincts of hostility, vengeance and hatred. The foundation of his limited vision for America is the antithesis of the ideals our country was founded on–justice, equality, and individual freedom. These are the values that make America great–values that the majority of Americans, including many of those who voted for Trump, believe in.

America does not need to become great again. There is no lost golden age residing in our distant history, waiting to be resurrected. The ideals of our country, though not always perfectly implemented, are among the highest aims humanity can aspire to. The ongoing progress in more closely aligning our national policies with those ideals is where our country’s strength and greatness arise. It takes courage and honesty to be able to acknowledge the failures in our history in achieving the goals of that idealism, but that is what is required “in order to make a more perfect union”. This kind of national introspection is not evidence of weakness or capitulation to political correctness, but rather, it is what is essential to fuel necessary changes. The call for a return to a sentimental past that never existed, to an era where basic rights were denied to too many of our citizens, does not provide a path to greatness.

I’ve been told that protest marches are futile and meaningless. Maybe. I know that it will have no impact on the man who would be President. He is, after all, a busy man. There are upcoming episodes of SNL to deal with, out of control Broadway actors to reprimand, thank you cards to Putin to get out, powerful government positions to fill with incompetent and corrupt “deplorables” and innumerable hateful and delusional tweets to compose. And of course, that hair to arrange. I’ve been told that is unfair to judge him before he has had the opportunity to drive the country full speed into the abyss of his ego. But I plan to join my fellow citizens in a public effort to draw attention to the dangerous and destructive direction we are heading. Only a resolute resistance to the deliberate corrosion of what is best in this country will mitigate the damage that is surely coming if it is not opposed.

via Simplenote