The president’s speech was, in a word, “Trumpian.” He was very clear that under his administration things were going to be different and that the old ways of doing things weren’t going to continue. He spoke about the inauguration being about giving power back to the people, which seemed a little unusual for a man who pretty much has never been a man of the people. I would have to imagine that his comments were also awkward for all the current members of Congress and all the ex-presidents who were in attendance (Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama). The crowd certainly got excited by President Trump’s speech, but the enthusiasm quieted quickly as people left.
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ACEP Now: Vol 36 – No 02 – February 2017
Dr. Cirillo and his son Connor at one of the unofficial inaugural balls.
After the actual swearing in ceremony, we got back to the place we were staying only to find that every—and I mean every—news channel was covering the “anarchists” in the streets of D.C. Even though this was a small group of about 100 people, they got, essentially, all the news coverage of the day. It was disappointing that the media made breaking windows and setting a few trash cans and newspaper machines on fire more important than discussing the importance of living in a democratic and free nation where we have a peaceful transition of power every four or eight years. Friday night was pretty mellow at one of the unofficial inaugural balls.
The Women’s March
Then came Saturday, which was the day of the Women’s March on Washington. Again, from my political junkie perspective, I give kudos to Teresa Shook, Evvie Harmon, Fontaine Pearson, Bob Bland, and others who created the concept on Facebook and worked to make it a worldwide event. Effective advocacy is all about tapping into passion, and the coordinators of the march did so extremely well. It was impressive to see the diversity of issues that were being championed. Reproductive rights, immigration reform, religious discrimination, LGBTQ rights, gender and racial inequalities, workers’ rights, and environmental issues were all part of the official platform. Although not part of the official platform, there was an anti-Trump sentiment that pervaded the event. For me, this is where the event lost something. Signs saying “Not My President” were some of the nicer ones. Madonna’s “F-bomb” rant and talk about blowing up the White House went beyond exercising one’s right of free speech and into a realm of hate and intolerance, which is what the protest was supposed to be rallying against.
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4 Responses to “Attending President Trump’s Inauguration Leaves Emergency Physician–Political Junkie Disheartened”
February 19, 2017
June McMillin, MDI agree, most of us are in the middle. I did participate in the Women’s March in the city that is closest to me and did not see the burning or the rant by Madonna. Our march was great. There were a lot of issues expressed with less vitriol and more positivity than the march in Washington. I haven’t marched in 40 years and I met some wonderful people who said the same thing. Some of the people who I met were Trump voters but they had concerns that they joined in expressing. All in all, it was a wonderful experience and reaffirming that the American people still have a voice which they are willing to use.
February 19, 2017
Robert Margulies, MD MPH FACPM FACEP FACFEKudos Dr Cirillo.
Rational, lucid and compelling.
Honest,relevan and civil debate are core values.
The “women’s march” was none of the above..
We all know who was left out and why.
One side screaming is not a debate.
We can advance the legitimate agenda of medicine when we are intellectually honest and willing to evaluate the other sides statistics. Both sides!
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February 23, 2017
David Zodda, MDIn response to Dr.Cirillo’s “Not My America” I have the following comment. While I applaud your efforts to offer a moderate spin on both the presidential inauguration and the women’s march in Washington D.C., I don’t fully agree with your premise that the ‘true majority’ of our country live somewhere within two standard deviations of the bell curve of social and economic issues. If that were true, we would not be in the political situation we are now. Our current administration represents the extreme far right of the bell curve for it promotes an agenda of religious intolerance, racial inequality, and isolationism. If we choose to align ourselves with this administration’s platform than we can no longer decry that we sit in the middle and represent the beliefs of the majority of Americans. To paraphrase the words of Howard Zinn, “You can’t be neutral on a moving train.” Our forefathers taught us that democracy is not a spectator sport and we as Americans have a responsibility to speak out and engage when the rights of others are marginalized and threatened. See you at the next march!
February 28, 2017
NNWe are ‘one nation under God”–I just wish we would act like it. I became so disenchanted with partisan politics that I became an independent voter nearly 4 years ago. The significance of being an American seems to have been lost, now it is simply used as rhetoric to obtain a vote. I’ve always believed that differing opinions can be healthy and at times it can force a spirited dialogue. The political parties have forgotten that it is possible to meet in the middle, especially when it is in the best interest of the country. Instead, it has become about who is right and who is wrong.
Ultimately, it is the voice and vote of the people that will make effective change, as it always has. Just as we can place our leaders in office, so can we remove them if we deem them unfit to lead a country. The Constitution was based on that premise. We seem to have forgotten that also.