It's a reality now. Donald Trump has sworn in and is now the President of the United States. Given the multi-year long fatigue of the venomous campaigning and election season in 2015/16, it's finally over. At least we can all get down to business.
I generally don't watch TV, more rarely so with a crowd. The last time I found myself staring at a big-screen TV in a conference room, was 9/11 when the first tower of the World Trade Center was billowing with smoke, but the second plane hadn't struck yet. The horror had not set in since there was so little information available on the news, except the almost still-picture like of WTC in the backdrop of a perfect blue sky with nary a wist of white cloud. There was a certain feeling of deja vu, as if we were watching a Hollywood movie, that feeling of "No, this cannot be..." It wasn't until a few days later, when more footage and news came out, of the chaos and frenzy that were happening on the ground, that when the footage of WTC came crashing down, huge cloud of smoke spreading in all directions, with people running away in all directions, that I began to feel the impact, that this was for real. I found my tears running down my face without realizing it until much later.
And so, I find it almost odd, to find myself in front of a big-screen TV at work watching the Trump inauguration yesterday. That feeling of dread, of what this guy might really do to the country. Perhaps not so curiously, I didn't feel the impact yet, I know that will come later, just like 9/11. I watched the swearing in of Trump and Mike Pence, his vice president, just in time to make the noon deadline. Apparently, it's customary (or perhaps mandatory??) for the new president's swearing in to happen before noon, though no one knows what should happen if there's delay. Trump's didn't end until 12:05pm, I didn't hear anyone complaining.
I stayed to watch his speech too, in front of huge crowds. There was no mention of the protest crowds (or perhaps that would come later? But I won't know since I didn't stay long after his speech). It could well be a case of beauty is in the eyes of beholder, that Trump supporters found so much to celebrate for in his inaugural speech, but all I heard was the same-old-same-old speech from Trump during his campaign.
Does anyone mention to Trump that he won already, and he can stop his campaigning now? Or, is that really his true conviction that he's going to return America to the people? I can't really tell. He spoke of much "carnage in America", that he would ensure "America First", and left unsaid was the message of "if that would mean screw everybody else, so be it." Winning at all costs, such has always been the Trump mantra. Some say he's nothing of an ideologue, hence he has no problems screwing Democrats as well as GOP which could well be true, so much so that Trump was something closest to an independent as voters can get. There is some truth in that.
During the inauguration, there was occasional shots of Obama looking passive. Given the hard work and popularity for eight long years, to see that all those hard-won battles are going to be all rolled back by Trump (with the help of a Congress fully controlled by GOP in the House and Senate), one can understand why he's looking almost sad. There was also a gracious Bill and Hillary Clinton too. One could only imagine how hard it must be for HRC to stand just 15 feet away from the podium, but what a world apart those 15 feet would define a winner from all the losers.
Today (one day after Trump's inauguration), people in US and around the world are marching in protests. It's dubbed Women's March Against Trump, although even before the march, the organization of it was already dividing itself up among subgroups, with some groups of women, particularly white women, feeling marginalized by minorities. Then again, why am I not surprised by this, given the political correctness that the liberals have helped stroked, that it's certainly not fashionable to be white, or male, or white female, or even heterosexual. One doesn't need to look much further than the new posters from Shepard Fairey to see what liberals are celebrating these days. For one, it's vogue to celebrate Muslim women in heavily wrapped headscarf in prints of US flags. Perhaps that's what liberals truly believe that would be our ideal world, but how many Muslim women would be doing that, one has to wonder?
In any case, for those women, particularly those who chose to stay in and not vote for HRC (as a counterweight to Trump), to come out in droves against Trump. That's simply "too little, too late". There's almost no point doing it now.
I'd just have to be content with seeing Trump ripped this country apart, one bite at a time. Case in point: Within an hour after inauguration, Trump suspended the FHA mortgage insurance rate reduction that was set to take effect on 01/27. To set the stage for all to come, the White House website has already been purged of policy reference to climate change the next day he's sworn in. For all the talks of returning the government to the people, what does Trump truly mean by "the people"?
Although my station is safe and secure, it's hugely sad to see the country voluntarily dims (even extinguishes) its beacon in which the world over had come to look up to and follow.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment