There is a lot of fear in America right now. It should be a time of new starts, new things and a glowing future. Instead many Americans are scared.
That was proven in Saturday’s march by women on Washington D.C. as well as in other cities around the country. Most of the marchers that I saw interviewed said they don’t want to lose the rights that have been hard gained over the last century for women. They feel that way because the President that is now in office has said a lot of things about women that offends them.
Many of the President’s supporters say it is the media’s fault people feel this way. But statements are statements and actions are actions and the man now seated in the Oval Office can’t really deny what he has said, since almost everything he says is always recorded by multiple sources.
I am all for giving the guy a chance, but already his administration has shown a propensity to be thin skinned about criticism. It was one thing to get excited about what was said when the campaign was going on, but it is a different thing now. He won, he is in power and now he needs to prove himself to be presidential and ignore much of the criticism, especially the little things that don’t matter.
The bickering that went on on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday morning was a good example. As a spokesman for the President, Kelly Ann Conway should never have used the term “alternative facts.” A statement like that is so Orwellian that it brings on more fear in those that don’t trust in this new regime. It also brings up a question. Do we trust a President who believes he has his own set of facts, rather than trusting learned advisers, experts and proven statistics? It is true when in office a President must make some decisions (usually many) that are political rather than logical, but facts are facts. There is no such thing as “alternative facts.” It is or it isn’t.
In this case, rather than dispute the fact that the crowds at the inauguration were smaller than expected, the administration could have said that many who voted for the President are not the type of people who could come to such an event. Based on his statements about his supporters, many are out of work, or working jobs way below their ability, and therefore are not prospering. Who in that kind of a position could come to see such an event, much less afford to do it.
That would have been a better explanation than disputing Washington transit system ridership numbers or photos showing the national mall not filled like it has been in the past.
I had to note (unless I missed it) that in the President’s inauguration speech he did not once mention the Constitution, or the rights of people therein. He talked about how the military and the police protect us, and that is true. But they only protect us based on the fact that their powers are reined in by the rule of law. In other countries that either don’t have a strong constitutional government or ignore theirs, police and military are often seen as the enemy, not protectors. Unfortunately, during the Vietnam War that is how many our country felt about the military and it was transferred to individuals who served. That was wrong, then and now, because the war was a political one, not of the choosing for those who served. Today many don’t trust the police. This can only be fixed by sticking to the rule of law, and by walking the fine line between protection of the public and people’s rights.
Roots of ‘Trumpophobia’
I think many in this country have become Trumpophobic because over the course of the campaign the ship he has guided has switched course very often. He says one thing and then says another. This is something that most who dislike politics complain about in our leaders all the time. To say that Trump is not like them, not political, is being a Pollyanna at the least.
I have to agree that the media are sometimes not fair to leaders. But there are a great number of media outlets. And ask yourself this question: Are the lies of the press of the left any less acceptable than the lies of the press on the right? Seeing a tweet from the President might make one feel he is telling the truth all the time, because it is a direct line, but also remember the saying that “you can tell when a politician is lying because his lips are moving.” Well in this case it might be because his fingers are tweeting.
It is time to get rid of the distractions, even if that effort is only one-sided. The new guy in office has the power and he has a Congress that is all of his party. In governing rather than tweeting, taking action rather than complaining and moving on from campaigning to taking charge, the new President can show he has the right stuff.
Or not.