Post Inaugural Address, I have Some Feelings
The dread is creeping in
America’s golden age has begun, apparently.
Call me crazy, but I don’t feel particularly excited. Throughout the rambling speech given by the now President Trump, the hair on the back of my neck gradually lifted until it was standing on end.
I feel like I’ve been shocked with static. I’m jittery, nervous and off-kilter.
There was the official announcement of the oncoming deportation storm, the confirmation of massive tax and tariff hikes on foreign goods, the proclamation that the United States government will only recognize two genders—those that line up with biological sex, excluding intersex—and the ominous rebranding of the military’s purpose from ‘defending America’ to ‘defeating America’s enemies.’
There’s a lot in there, and none of it is good.
He talked about planting the American flag on the moon, extolling the virtues of Manifest Destiny, he spoke of ending DEI initiatives and destroying the Green New Deal—along with any hope of reining in Climate Change before it renders parts of the planet uninhabitable.
He spoke of renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America and forcibly renaming Mount Denali back to Mount McKinley, spitting in the faces of the native peoples of Alaska who fought so hard to restore respect for their traditional landmark.
He talked about taking the Panama Canal back, and he spoke about how American businesses are treated unfairly. He spoke of forcing other countries to fill America’s coffers through a new government agency that would solely exist to plunder allied nations.
He talked about rebalancing the scales of justice.
He didn’t mention annexing Canada or Greenland, which is nice, but that’s about the only good thing I can say. We’ll have to see what the executive orders he signs today will set us up for.
I’m not optimistic.
From a human rights perspective, this is already a fucking nightmare. Transgender and non-binary people have reason to fear, immigrants living inside the United States have reason to fear, women have reason to fear, and any people of colour who already face discrimination that impacts their quality of life have even more reason to fear.
Everyone who belongs to a marginalized community has reason to fear. The few protections that sheltered you are about to be stripped away.
If Trump goes ahead with his plan to make his discriminatory policies a reality, there will be very dark days ahead of us.
To all of my American friends who did not vote for this man, I am so sorry. Words cannot express the pain I feel on your behalf, watching your beloved country fall to ignorance and hate once again.
You deserve better. And so does the rest of the world.
The next few years are going to be rough. Hopefully, the next election will come before a wiser and more united populace.
Assuming there is a next election.
Before Trump’s swearing-in, there was a lot of talk about the theme of this year being ‘the endurance of American democracy.’ There was emphasis on this being the 250th anniversary of America’s democratic form of government, and that the American people must continue to fight to maintain it and hold it sacred.
As Ben Franklin once said, America will only remain a republic ‘if you can keep it.’
Democracy is a fragile creature. It must be carefully nurtured, defended and enshrined. It is a flame that must be constantly fed and fanned by eager citizens who understand the value of liberty and justice for all.
If the American people falter, that flame will die out. And it will die out fast. Once it is gone, it will be nigh impossible to ignite from the embers once again.
Now is the time to fight all the harder, to carry more fuel to the fire, to feed democracy before it can starve and waste away before our eyes.
If you truly want to make America great, then you have no other choice.
The alternative is unthinkable.
Solidarity wins.
This is like some horrible dystopian nightmare, - only it's real and it's impossible to wake up from. I don't live in the US and in theory I shouldn't have anything to worry about living way down in the Southern Hemisphere in New Zealand. However that's not true at all as the fallout from Trump's election to president is going to end up affecting just about every one on this planet by the time his 4 year term is over.
I am horrified that this vile man has declared that the human race is binary only and intends to make that the law of the land. I rarely talk about this Sam, but when I was born I didn't quite fit that concept, but the surgeons with their steely knives and the mysterious injections I suffered as child that no one ever explained to me soon took care of that. It's only in the past 15 years I found out what the big secret was, but I'd already figured most of it out by then.
Although I didn't listen to the speech, I am not surprised at what he said. I am sure all of the journalists across the world will repeat snippets as it suits their narrative. The proof will be in the pudding, as they say.
I am more concerned about what may happen when his lies come out since he won't be able to do half of what he wants. Will the U.S suffer a modern-day French Revolution over the serious discontent of the voters? Or will the U.S. economy collapse under his ineptness, bringing on a worldwide recession?
We are nearly there now. If he tries to impose all of these tariff/taxes, making the cost of living go way above what people can afford everywhere, things will break in North Americana and Europe. How much of that before people start rioting in the streets?