Everything Changed Today

At exactly 10 AM Mountain Standard Time Donald John Trump was sworn in as President of the United States. I sat in front of my desk at work with my coworkers watching by my side and things felt slightly wrong. The bottom dropped out of my stomach and I legitimately put my hands over my mouth to stop . . . well to be quite frank I don't actually know what I was trying to stop.

I think for me the transition has been a surreal experience. I've watched domestic politics in a way I've never watched them before. Meaning, I actually kept up on them. Trump was naming his team and it didn't actually feel like any of them would ever take those places.

And then today it actually happened. Trump and Pence were sworn in, later Mattis and Kelly were confirmed and sworn in. So it's real folks, they're here for at least four years. And I've been thinking a lot about that in recent days. several years ago I got upset at a debate student I judged who simply made fun of the President pretty much the whole speech. At that moment in time I presented the argument that even if you do not like the action of the President, or approve of his ideology, that the office of the President deserves your respect.

So I've been facing some cognitive dissonance. I have a lot of trouble respecting the man who now holds the highest office of my land. I don't approve of his choices in rhetoric, I don't enjoy his policy ideas. I do not like him Sam I am. I do not like him here or there, I do not like him anywhere. But I do believe in respecting the office.

So I will not say "Not my President." Because he is my president. I still live in the United States of America and therefore he is the president for the next four years. And I have determined to respect the office, even if I cannot respect the man.

So everything changed today, but that change just means that regular citizens will have to work harder to let their representatives know what they do and don't like. We will have to work harder to make our voices heard. Civic involvement in the Political process has always been a crucial part of our democracy. Right now it is even more important.

In many ways I believe that President Trump's campaign, nomination, presidential win and now inauguration have shown us the stark divisions that are in our country. We knew that they were there, we just didn't quite know how deep they ran. His campaign revealed that we were not a 'post-racist' nation. The campaign revealed to us that societal discrimination was still leveled at women. His campaign revealed many distasteful things about our country that it is now our duty to fix.

He may not be your president, but he is my president and that just means I have to work harder. I have to be better. Hopefully, by the time my working harder pays off I will be able to say with pride, I serve the President of the United States. That may not be till after Grad School (so 2-4 years) but someday I will be able to say that.

Everything changed today. I hope that change will eventually be for the better.