Some of you may be old enough to remember Ronald Reagan?s inauguration speech when he proclaimed that it was ?Morning in America.? It was supposed to usher in a new day, a new era of conservative core values and serve notice that America had turned a corner to a more promising and prosperous future. Under his administration, we got Reaganomics ? or ?trickle down? economics, the Iran Contra scandal, the en masse dismissal of air traffic controllers and deregulation among other things. Years later, we?re still feeling the ?morning sickness? effects of his policies.
The results of November?s presidential election reminded me of Reagan?s words, once again, only this time it should read, ?Mourning in America.? The election of Donald Trump to the highest office in the land left many with the mournful feeling of a profound loss. We are in shock, disbelief and grief stricken as if there has been a death in the American family.? This feeling was validated when I was compelled to attend the Womens? March in Philadelphia this month, just one of the hundreds of sites all around the world where unprecedented numbers of protesters came out to mourn and outright reject the policies, practices and presidency of Donald Trump.
To say that Trump is a flawed character would be an understatement. We?re all too aware of his baggage and troubles: myriad conflicts of interest that run counter to the Constitution, unreleased tax returns, Russian election tampering, worrisome cabinet selections, hateful rhetoric and poor diplomacy skills, just to name a few. We mourn the loss of ethics for the office of President of the United States.
While Barack and Michelle Obama are admittedly a tough act to follow as exemplars of class, dignity, professionalism, leadership and integrity, we wish them every happiness and continued success in the next chapter of their lives. We mourn the end of their tenure as the First Family.
Now that the hate speech from the Trump campaign has somehow been sanctioned according to the election results, concerns that the floodgates have been opened and the bar has been lowered for crass, vile, vulgar and divisive language and behavior to become socially acceptable. We mourn the loss of civility, respect and the embracing of diversity among people that makes any country truly great.
Such a hotly contested election has us all wondering if we can ever again trust the process of voting. Was there tampering by a foreign government? Was voter suppression in evidence? What role did the electoral college play? Can we ever believe data from pollsters again? We mourn the loss of faith in the democratic process.
Yes, we mourn this and more but we must never give up on the power of the people to put things right. After attending the protest march and seeing the turnout at protest rallies around the world I am confident that we will prevail in our efforts to move further towards a more just, equitable and peaceful society as global citizens. We are capable of good and great things. Remember that after darkness comes the dawn?each and every morning.
