Today is inauguration day. Barack Obama is officially out. Donald Trump is officially in. As I ponder Barack Obama, sandwiched in history by George W. Bush and Donald J. Trump, I am astounded by the swings this country has taken.
Yesterday I changed my Facebook profile to an image of a resistor, as did many people. I plan to leave it up through the inauguration today. If I remember my high school physics correctly, when current is flowing through a material, that material provides resistance which inhibits the flow of the current. The higher the resistance, the more difficult it is for the current to flow and the less current gets through. The problem though is that resistance causes heat. Space heaters work by passing current through a highly resistant material which causes heat to be generated. Of course, too much heat and the material that is resisting burns up.
This is the dilemma facing those of us who are concerned about the Trump agenda over the next four years. Donald Trump’s strategy seems to stir up constant outrage. He lies about everything. Just a couple of days ago he put out a photograph of himself supposedly writing his own inaugural speech. He was holding what appeared to be a blank legal pad, writing in Sharpie and sitting at the concierge desk at Mar A Lago. Like the staged taco bowl image he sent out on Cinco De Mayo, the photo was so poorly staged that I have to come to the conclusion he’s trying to draw outrage, trying to burn out the resistance. If we are outraged about everything, soon, we will be outraged about nothing. And, anyone who was listening to our outrage will soon turn a deaf ear.
Today, is a very sad and troubling day for probably more than half of the country. Only around 25% of eligible voters voted for Trump. His approval rating is already well south of 40%. But, we must resist the temptation to burn ourselves out. Today, I will go dark on the television. I will not watch any of the coverage of the inauguration proceedings. I will not give energy to what is going on. My plan is to do my walk, to do more meditation than I would normally and to try to stay strong and focused on the things I can change, the inauguration is not one of them.
Don’t worry mother
It’ll be alright
And don’t worry sister
Say your prayers and sleep tight
And it’ll be fine
Lover of mine
It’ll be just fine
And lend your voices only
To sounds of freedom
No longer lend your strength
To that which you wish
To be free from
Fill your lives
With love and bravery
And you shall lead
A life uncommon- Jewel- A Life Uncommon
