The Women's March on Washington

Dearest Reader,

For my #2 No Fears I am invoking the First Amendment and joining the Women’s March on Washington. 

For the record, I am nonpartisan.  I have voted for democratic, republican and independent candidates.  I have been pleased and disappointed with my respective presidential candidates' wins and losses but this time is different.  It is so different, I am spending the equivalent of an Italian vacation to cross the continent and make my views known.

​Before my right-leaning friends ditch me, I must say I do see positive changes, directly and indirectly, attributable to our president-elect:

• The stock market is doing well, reflecting our country’s confidence in the economy.
• Trump says trade deals are unfair and plans to do something about them.
• Law enforcement seems to feel more respected.
• He expresses concern about creating jobs, improving the lot of the American worker and is alluding to policies to make this happen.
• In his business, he has top notch women working for him and they appear to be respected and well-compensated.
• The armed services have been acknowledged in his cabinet choices.
• There have been obvious concerns about conflicts of interest due to his financial holdings.  His attorney has presented a plan and rationale for handling these potential issues and there is oversight in place.

In addition, I do not think Hillary Clinton was our champion. She had her own very flawed history. 

After a great deal of soul-searching, I realize there is a whole lot contributing to my concern regarding Donald Trump and I can understand why the Women's March has had a difficult time finding a unifying theme.  Which, of the many issues, does one choose?  After more thought, I find a rather simplistic answer with two overarching loosely defined characteristics fundamental for a good president. There is much evidence Trump has neither.  They are:  truth and empathy.  (Thanks to Meryl Streep for using this perfect word in her Golden Globes speech.)

Truth:
Our president-elect has a very complicated relationship with truth.  I have heard him connect Ted Cruz’s father to Lee Harvey Oswald via an article in a tabloid, say thousands of people in New Jersey cheered the collapse of the Twin Towers, tweet he would have won the popular vote if millions had not voted illegally,  claim he could not release his tax returns due to an IRS audit , and other obviously ridiculous statements.  Jane Mayer of The New Yorker interviewed Tony Schwartz, the ghostwriter of Trump’s bestselling book The Art of the Deal:

Schwartz said of Trump, “He lied strategically. He had a complete lack of conscience about it.” Since most people are “constrained by the truth,” Trump’s indifference to it “gave him a strange advantage.”

Trump understands the power of the press and puts an extraordinary amount of time into managing it.  He is the first president to adopt Twitter for conveying his message.  On the surface, this does not appear to be a poor decision.  After all, aren’t we receiving the undiluted truth directly from the source   The problem is he, with his own interpretation of the truth, is his own fact checker.  Isn’t this the job of our legitimate press and part of the checks and balances of our country?   He does not appear to believe so. 

Empathy:
There are factions alienated by this president:

• Women (and men) are still reeling from the lewd tape of married Trump discussing women.  He talks about female body parts and how he wants to “grab them by the p***y.”  He later excused his actions by saying it was “locker room talk”, changing the subject to ISIS, claiming Bill Clinton had done worse, or stating these comments were made a decade ago and he’s changed.  (Trump was close to 60 when this incident was recorded.)
• There are further concerns about racism. Trump has talked of creating a Muslim registry,  did not immediately distance himself from a white supremacist’s endorsement, doggedly challenged Barack Obama’s Hawaiian birthplace, and  questioned a judge’s impartiality due to his Mexican heritage.  

• Donald Trump is also a first-rate bully.   He’s called his political opponents names and anyone who has contradicted him.  Marco Rubio was Little Marco and Hillary Clinton was Crooked Hillary.  Ted Cruz was Lyin’ Ted. When Megyn Kelly confronted him regarding his treatment of women, she was met with a firestorm of derogatory tweets and threats including one referring to her menstrual cycle. If that were not enough, he has also publicly mocked a disabled reporter (he denies  although it was captured on video) and tweets relentlessly at any perceived derision.    

 
Our 45th president is a complicated human being, unlike any previous president.  Like all Americans, I hope his tenure is successful but do not see this happening without some major changes and there are a whole lot of us who are VERY concerned.
 
After pouring over press sites, both liberal and conservative, trying to distill my viewpoint into a slogan for my protest sign, I have finally figured it out.  Superman’s mantra was:  Truth, justice, and the American way.  I’m changing it a little to fit the situation:  Truth and Empathy are my American Way.  I have designed the sign with super  ”men” of all colors, sizes, and genders standing with capes waving in unity .  For truth and empathy truly are my American way.
​
XO M.J.