Yes, He Is My President

Today, feeling sick and confused in body and mind since it was Presidents Day, I slept through most of the day and evening, awaking a few times to smoke a cigarette and check the news to make sure the planet hadn’t gone hurtling into deep space while I was napping. Apparently we’re still in our solar system. Considering what our new president has been doing, saying, and tweeting for the past month, as well as all the other crap that surrounds and defines his administration, I found that reassuring.

What I did not find reassuring were the many substantial demonstrations proclaiming that “Trump Is Not My President.” I strongly disagree with this sentiment. He’s not the candidate I voted for, and I genuinely believe he is extremely incompetent and potentially very dangerous for our country and the world. I don’t know whether or not he won by honest means and that, along with much else, should be investigated. But good or bad, right or wrong, the reality is: Donald J. Trump is the 45^th President of the United States. And because I’m an American, he is my president. That, unfortunately, is the plain, simple fact. And we cannot afford to indulge in “alternative facts” as he does.  

We who find Trump’s presidency unacceptable and downright insane are not wrong. And continued protest is good. With great difficulty, I made it to the January Women’s March (in NYC) – the first protest in which I’ve participated in decades. I was on my mobility scooter in the middle of the crowd, so I was about four-feet tall and couldn’t see much of what was going on around me. Plus I was cold, I don’t like being in crowds; I don’t like being outdoors very much. But I was thrilled to be there, to see not only all kinds of women but also all kinds of men. Kids too. I had done something difficult for me to be part of something important to me and I was proud of myself and the millions of comrades worldwide who came out to shout and chant and object to the sheer madness that is Donald Trump.

We should continue to protest – whether it’s difficult, inconvenient or not. But our protests must be against what Trump says and does – not the mere fact of him. We also cannot restrict ourselves to the collective comfort of street marches. We have to do the sometimes lonely, tedious desk-work of proactive citizenship. Write/phone/email, whatever, your local, state and national representatives – repeatedly – about your specific objections and concerns. Contact Republicans, whether one is your representative or not, and tell them to man up and fight/reject the mad clown they didn’t want either. Go to Town Hall meetings. Write to newspapers and magazines, news channels and Internet sites.  Join or form an organization that is working to address your issues and work with them. Talk to family and friends who aren’t activists and encourage them to act. Use your social media and make your voice heard by your virtual “friends.” Make financial contributions – however small they may be – to organizations whose work you value. Be polite. Be calm. Express yourself clearly and well. And VOTE in every election that comes your way.

Be active and be hopeful. Trump may self-destruct; he’s certainly headed that way. Let’s hope he can do so without destroying anything/everything else beyond repair. Meanwhile, accept the reality that Trump is the president – and fight him and his minions in every legal, non-violent way possible. Do it for Presidents Washington and Lincoln, the leaders today was intended to honor. Do the right thing. And do it smart.