The Agony of Defeat

Today at 12 noon, Eastern Standard Time, Donald J. Trump will be sworn in as the 45^th President of the United States of America. That is a fact. There is nothing that I can say or do that will change that. If there was something I could say, I would say it. If there was something I could do, I would do it. The reality is, Trump won the election, and Clinton lost.

For me, that hurts. It hurts to say it. It hurts to write it. It hurts to think it.

When I went to bed (early) on election night I felt physically ill. I love my country. I have studied its history intently since I discovered my school’s library in elementary school. I am still moved by the majestic words of the Declaration of Independence and the Gettysburg Address. I am inspired by America’s heroes that have given their lives to preserve its freedoms and defend our rights. I am proud of its achievements in science, engineering, architecture, medicine, and the arts. I take pride in my country’s role in protecting human rights around the world and alleviating the suffering of those less fortunate than ourselves. I am proud of our way of life, our standards of living, and our progress in making our own country a beacon of opportunity for people all over the world. But when I went to bed on election night I was not proud. In fact, I was ashamed. I was angry. I was embarrassed.

I wonder who felt that way the night Barack Obama was elected President of the United States? I wonder if they would have the courage to ask themselves why?

I was ashamed because Donald Trump thinks that we should torture people and “take out their families”. To me, that means murder. Torture has been outlawed with the consensus agreement of the entire civilized world. So, our new President wants to be a war criminal and murderer. Donald Trump was caught on tape bragging about “grabbing them by the pussy”. He feels he can do that to women because of his celebrity. That makes him a misogynistic, admitted sexual abuser. Not to mention he has been accused of sexual assault by at least twelve different women. He feels that when we invaded Iraq we should have just “taken their oil”, and “presto!”, ISIS would not exist. He doesn’t seem to realize that invading a country and seizing its natural resources is the height of imperialism, and the type of thing the Nazi’s were sentenced to be hanged for at Nuremberg. Nevertheless, this is our new President.

I was angry because Donald Trump believes that we should have guns in our schools. Elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, colleges. He thinks we should have guns in our churches. He thinks we should have guns in our bars, guns in our airports, guns in our supermarkets, guns in our theaters, guns in our offices, guns in our malls, guns at our sporting events, guns in our restaurants, he thinks everybody on our streets should have a gun. Then, and only then, will we be “safe from the terrorists”. I am angry because I served in the United States Marine Corps, and I know what guns can do. I was a high school Principal for almost ten years, and I know how beautiful, brilliant, immature, impetuous, and stupid teenagers can be. I know how it feels to deliver a eulogy for a young person gone too soon. I still feel the pain of the parents of those elementary school children in Newtown, Connecticut. Gunned down with a weapon designed for the battlefield. I went to bed angry that night because I despise racism and those that promote or perpetrate it. Donald Trump created his political base by insisting at every opportunity that America’s first Black President was a fraud, illegitimate, born in Kenya and ineligible to be President. Donald Trump said that Barack Obama was “the most ignorant President we have ever had”. Trump started his campaign by insisting he would build a wall on the Mexican border to keep the Mexican’s out of the country, and institute a ban on Muslims entering the country to stop terrorism. He has said nothing about keeping illegal immigrants that happen to be white out of the country.

When I went to bed on election night I was embarrassed because our children are watching. People all over the world are watching. The American President has incredible power to influence the actions of others. They are the supreme role-model. Some of our children have already begun to emulate the despicable behavior displayed throughout the campaign at Donald Trump political rallies. They are insulting minorities, ridiculing the disabled, and threatening violence against those that may disagree with them.

I fear for what comes next for my country and the world. War is more likely than peace, and nuclear weapons makes it possible for Donald Trump to destroy civilization itself. Trump is beholden to the Russian government. Evidence indicate the reasons are financial as well as sexual. I fear what the Russians will extort from our new President.

ABC’s Wide World of Sports was an American institution from April 1961 until January 1998. It’s iconic opening sequence featured a terrible crash of a ski jumper, Vinko Bogataj. Just before Bogataj’s crash, the announcer, Jim McKay says “the thrill of victory”, and as the crash occurs, he says… “and the agony of defeat”. Watching the crash, you can’t help but assume that every bone in Bogataj” body is broken, and he probably died.

Bogataj survived the “agony of defeat”. I pray that America will survive it too.