Inauguration Day

I almost decided to stay silent. I didn't see a point in expressing my feelings when so many others spoke them much better than I ever could.

Alas, it's Inauguration Day. Today, I am heartbroken.

Many Trump supporters call people like me *snowflakes*. They tell us to go kill our selves. They tell us they will drink cups of liberal tears as they take back their nation from the liberals (as though the amazing country we all live in somehow belongs to them and their ideals alone). They believe God answered their prayers and gave our country Trump and I wonder if they really understand Christianity at all since this is a man who has lied, cheated, adulterated, and rose high at the expense of so many others (just look what he did to honest Americans with his Trump University scam). He is now an American President who refuses to show his tax returns and says avoiding paying taxes makes him smart. He has made a career out of finding every loophole imaginable to benefit himself. He goes into office with more than 50 lawsuits against him (including ones where he is accused of sexual assault). His narcissistic ego consumes him to the core and his thin-skinned petulance becomes clear in his all night Twitter tirades (because God forbid you don't agree with him). While not shocked that he was elected, I am no less horrified.  It has nothing to do with Donald Trump the Republican and everything to do with Donald Trump the terrible human being...his supporters can call me what they want, but I can never respect a man as small as Trump, office of the President or not. I have disagreed with Republicans on many social issues but respected their positions on fiscal responsibility and often admired them as people.

Donald Trump is so much different.  People should be afraid...so much is at stake.

• People should care that their President can't even rise high enough to let an insult roll off of him.
• People should care that their President wants to overturn Executive Orders that keep women, minorities, and LGBTQ safer.
• People should care that their President, who claims he is going to *drain the swamp*, yet appoints some of the most wealthy, corporate cronies with more special interests than experience. And those he appointed with experience have an oppressive voting history.
• People should care about the rights of others...a woman's right to choose, a gay couples right to marry who they love, a Muslims right to wear a burqa or hijab, and an immigrants path to citizenship, etc.
• People should care that their President has no respect for women, has bragged about assaulting them, and has insulted anyone who doesn't meet his standards for beauty.
• People should care that their President has mocked people with disabilities, insulted Gold Star families, and Civil Rights Activists.
• People should care that their President lies constantly and even when he is fact checked, sees no reason to retract (which reveals exactly what he thinks about the intelligence of his supporters). 
• People should care that their President is quick to repeal the Affordable Care Act without another option in place. The ACA is flawed and needs work but has many great moving parts to build off and improve upon. It seems the move to repeal with no alternative suggestion is more about dismantling Obama's legacy than  it is about the millions of Americans who count on the ACA for their healthcare.
• People should care that their President is making us a worldwide laughing stock but that the joke is now no laughing matter and the global economy is at stake.
• People should care that their President isn't diplomatic and that already his Tweets and statements have the potential to put our Nation in danger.
• People should care that their President defends Putin, a war criminal and oppressor, and undermines the US Intelligence when they reveal that Russia interfered with the US election in favor of a Trump presidency. 

Because I care about these things, many Trump supporters  will think I'm not patriotic. They will forget the terrible way they spoke about President Obama and his family...many times these attacks were personal and had nothing to do with disagreeing with Obama's policies. I am not sorry to say that I have no respect at all for President Trump. I believe him to be an illegitimate President that Russia helped elect, who didn't win the popular vote, and who refuses to sever himself from his business (giving the business to his sons is a bunch of crap) in order to devote himself to the best interests of Americans.

I can't be silent. I have to lend my voice to those in need of solidarity. I need to give a hand to anyone else feeling down right now. We have four years left.  Let's make them count by checking Trump at every turn. Let's get out and vote in 2 years to replace stagnant members in government. Most importantly, let us never forget that LOVE TRUMPS HATE.