At the stroke of noon, January 20th, 2017, Donald J. Trump was sworn in as the 45th President of the United States. This is a fact, regardless of the anger, disappointment, or indignance that a large segment of the population of this nation may feel. These feelings are natural to those who do not get what they want. But reality yearns to be accepted.
How quick (and rightly so) were liberals to criticize conservatives who so stridently declared that Barack Obama was not their president? Yet, those same embattled cries resonate, a cacophony within the walls of the liberal echo chamber.
These sentiments are not without value. They are understandable. Large portions of the American populace stand to lose direly from many of the incoming administration’s policies. The attitude is not entirely out of line. Certainly, people have the right to feel the way they do, and to express their opinions without fear of retribution (in theory).
The main issue is efficacy. Calling out “Not my President” changes nothing and helps no-one. Safe spaces do not effect policy. Screaming for impeachment, baying for blood even before the inauguration only serve to vilify opponents of the incumbent administration, to demonize them in the eyes of their own opposition, and detract from the power of reasonable, logical, and fact based arguments against the potential policies that are now on the table.
The anger of the 45% of eligible voters who abstained during the presidential election of 2016 and the 77% who could not be bothered to turn up for the primaries is particularly undeserved. In this country, everyone has a legal right to their opinion. But if one refuses to take any step toward making his or her voice heard in a potentially meaningful way, he or she has forfeited the moral right to join the conversation. There are serious, meaningful, and legitimate problems with, and criticisms of, the American voting system and version of democratic republicanism. But isolating oneself from the process entirely is not productive. It is just another facile posturing maneuver, which is toothless at its best, and demonstrably harmful at worst.
If you voted for Trump, or did not vote at all, you chose this. If you voted for one of his opponents, you did not get what you wanted. Closing your eyes, putting your hands over your ears and shouting “La-la-la! I can’t hear you!” will not change this fact (even if you're only following the President's example). Grief is understandable. Denial, anger, and depression are all part of the blow you have received. It is time to move toward acceptance.
Only by accepting and acknowledging reality can progress begin. Get out of the safe spaces and into the voting booths. Protest. Get active in your local governments. Visit town-hall meetings. Run for office. Above all, participate. Don’t ignore facts. Accept them, and move forward.
