We all bleed the same color

I heard echoes of my father’s words in President Donald Trump’s inaugural address. My father served in the U.S. Army in the 1950s, when the armed services still struggled with racial integration. When Mr. Trump reminded us that “we all bleed the same color,” I remembered hearing my father argue with someone about the desegregation of public schools in the 1960s. My father pointed out that - at that very moment - there were men getting shot at in Vietnam whose children had to attend second-rate schools because of their skin color.

I’m glad to hear that our new president supports racial equality. I just wonder if the guy is for real. I mean, our new president is one of those people who is famous for being famous. He has proved that name recognition wins elections. Just to give you an idea of how I thought of Donald Trump before his presidential campaign:  After I saw the inauguration on TV, I wanted to call my dad and tell him that I had a dream in which Ted Baxter got elected president. My dad thought Ted Baxter was pretty hilarious back in the day. The old fellow is in his 80s now, though. I don’t know if his heart could take it.

I hope we remember that citizens and soldiers of all religions bleed the same color. President Trump may be specific in his words about “extreme Islamic terrorism,” but his ardent supporters seem to want to apply this fear to all Muslims. I fear a Kristallnacht. Only this time, it’ll be Muslims getting their heads cracked and their stores burned to the ground, instead of Jews.

I’m glad to hear that our new president addressed decaying infrastructure and an ineffectual education system, but he won’t say anything about his violations of the emoluments clause of the United States Constitution. I’m glad to hear that he wants to drain the swamp in Washington, but he might make things better a lot sooner by draining the swamp on Wall Street. We stand to lose more jobs to robots than to low-wage workers in other countries, but Mr. Trump has not addressed job loss due to automation.

I will do as friends have asked, and give our new president a chance. I just hope that one friend is wrong about Mr. Trump losing interest and resigning before he finishes a full term. The day after the inauguration had a controversy about how the press reported inauguration attendance. The guy seems more pathetic than most politicians in wanting everyone to like him. He may decide the job’s not for him if he doesn’t get the adoration he expects.