We Are The People

Yes, I will be boycotting the inauguration on Friday, not that I got an invitation anyway or that I think the incoming president will notice my absence. He did not win this election fairly. I respect the people who will attend because they don’t want to cast a pall on the election process. I also respect the people who cannot accept this man as the legitimate president. Theirs is the right to protest.

I will be boycotting because this election was important. They all are, and too many people are beginning to think they aren’t. A very dear friend said to me recently, “I don’t think it really matters anyway. Everyone in politics is crooked and they are all out to make money for themselves and screw the rest of us. There’s nothing you can do that will make it different.”

I refuse to believe that. There are some, way too many, politicians that are like that and with agendas that don’t reflect the needs of the regular people. But there are some good people who really want to see a change and to administer that change. There are really people who, whether I agree with everything they say or not, are really working hard to preserve the good things about this country. One of them was in this past presidential race.

Another country did, without a doubt, interfere in this election and in previous ones. That disturbs me. That and a few dozen other things about our democratic process. We are our own worst enemy when it comes to getting a fair and accurate vote here in the United States of America. Voter fraud, gerrymandering, voter suppression, misinformation, the entire primary process and campaign season violate my sensibilities and make finding the best choice a bigger chore than it needs to be.

This election exploited every problem to the max with the help of a foreign leader that had a favorite candidate. He won. He cheated, he lied, and lied about lying. The Republican Party helped with the tried and true voter suppression methods, and then there was a widespread fake news program that continually assassinated the character of Hillary Clinton.  Add to that the questionable actions of the FBI director and some other unfair acts and we are now about to inaugurate the most unsuitable person to ever have the office.

So, I won’t be watching the inauguration. I’m sure I can find a transcript of the speech he says he is writing himself. I doubt that, even after the picture he tweeted out to prove it. The President Elect has already insulted all our allies on the world stage, most of the women in his country and the world, anyone who isn’t white skinned and rich, Muslims and more, who he now wants to support him. But he refuses to say a word against Putin.

He communicates his hurt feelings and future policy actions via tweets and has nominated a cabinet full of wealthy racists and misfits, most of whom have no knowledge or experience in the fields they are charged with heading up. Several of them have been openly against equality for gays or women or races or religions.  Now he wants to cripple the press. This is the stuff that makes fiction exciting and reality very dangerous.

We need to fix the voting problems. We need to count every vote of every citizen of this country. We need to do this now. As we sit here with an unqualified president at the helm and ultra-conservative republicans rushing to take away healthcare, social security and medicare, we have now been backed into a corner, the best position from which to fight.

So, no I won’t be watching the coronation. I will not give to him the respect he would never give to President Barack Obama. I will not call him illegitimate, though I don’t think he won a fair election. We do need to respect the election process. I will be in support of the millions that will march on Saturday. They are our voice, the voice of THE PEOPLE. We are the People for whom and by whom and of whom this country was founded.  Speak up, let us know what you need.