A belated Happy New Year! When Donald Trump was inaugurated at noon Friday, I wasn't watching but I did react with a "God help us" when seeing it on my phone in the middle of a restaurant. My New Year's resolution has been to engage people respectfully whether they agree or not while correcting statements - now being called "alternative facts" by the new White House Chief of Staff. After being totally blown away by the "people power" of the worldwide Women's March and seeing Facebook posts focusing on much smaller stuff, I finally initiated my own political Facebook post. Sure enough, the likes and responses were basically from within my own liberal bubble of friends.
If someone's total takeaway from this weekend is what some thugs did to a limo, an SNL writer's tasteless erased tweet and hating Madonna for being Madonna while Trump is "just being Trump", is there hope of enough Americans getting out of ideological bubbles and really reaching out to the other side? Yes, there's a liberal bubble too. Equating Trump voters (half of the best people in my life) with people who brought in Hitler is unacceptable. I am, however, very encouraged by so many Americans actually taking to the streets Saturday without a single arrest, but all some people find within themselves is selective outrage.
A lot of people who voted for him now think he's nuts, and his authoritarian streak is very dangerous. This cult of personality and reaction to it have been taking all the oxygen out of the room, smothering real issues. The marches yesterday were a breath of fresh air! For the past 30 years, setting one group against another has meant big ratings for some "news" networks and syndicated radio talk shows. They only need to preach to their choirs to get an audience niche while the rest of society can go pound sand. The GOP may be Trump's undoing. If Pence took his place (climate change denier, gay conversion therapy cheerleader, evolution skeptic and all) at least the focus would be more on issues... compared to Trump anyway!
One Facebook friend made the point about Madonna making it all about herself. She really needs a 7-second delay! That's the big problem with our President... all about him. That was obvious in his speech to the CIA.
