I received a text from my Dad last night. I always love hearing from him.
In the course of our late night conversation, I reflected on Friday, January 20: Inauguration Day. With all of the tensions both leading up to and since the 2016 election, this Inauguration Day is unlike any of the other nine in my historic consciousness. But, regardless of the disparity between the Electoral College and the Popular Vote, frightening evidence that there may have been some collusion with Russia to impact the election, and all of the talk of boycotting the inauguration, Donald Trump will become the 45th President of the United States on Friday.
He is the President-elect and thereby deserves the opportunity to fill the Office. All of “We the People” need to give him the same chance every President has had to do so. If we refuse to believe this, we undermine the very idea of America.
However, I admit that I am approaching this “peaceful transition of power” with deep apprehension because of the way that Mr. Trump has comported himself throughout his entire campaign. I am concerned that he doesn’t have the strength of character to fill the Office. I worried about this with George W. Bush as well, but for different reasons. There is no question that Mr. Trump has an enormous Ego, but Ego is neither strength nor character.
After Friday, then President Trump will have the strictures of the Office on him. This can only benefit what I see as his clear character flaws. He will not be able to publicly rant at anyone who calls his words or actions into question. He will find out very quickly that he does not have the power to do anything he wants. All of these boundaries are very good given who we are dealing with in the Office and we will see how he adapts.
The primary thing that concerns me as Mr. Trump takes office is the straight line that one political ideology has to every power of national government. We should not be fooled. This alignment is not accidental, but part of a highly pragmatic political strategy that has been in play since the late 70s. What it means, of course, is that all three branches of government will have a clear ideological majority and will run a very one-sided agenda through without any internal questioning (read, “balance of powers”) that those in power will take seriously. This long-game power play concerns me as much as the character of the new President.
But that said, “We the People” must graciously receive this shift in governance. However well-strategized, the makeup of the Legislative and Executive branches reflects the current state of our collective votes. Going forward, I am planning to be doing three things:
- Be very involved locally – primarily through the Church – to continue to foster the sort of community that I believe is good for people – all people. This is what I have already been doing for years.
- I will be listening and watching very carefully without “talking politics” much publicly (unless asked to engage in constructive dialogue, of course).
- I will continue to do my homework, doing my best to read carefully and get below the surface of things as much as I’m able so that I can see a broader, clearer picture. As long as we have a free press who have access to sources and the liberty to publish, and a society of open information, we will be able to collectively discern the good from the bad. However, If we start allowing the limitation of these liberties in ANY way, we will be taking a giant, dangerous step backward.
So, I’m ready to move forward, clinging to the hope that God is bigger than our contemporary politics, and that as long as I keep my eyes and ears and heart aligned and attuned to Him, everything will be Good – no matter how bad things might get. I am hopeful that many are already way ahead of me on this journey.