A Disappointment
In general, the 2017 Inaguration was a huge success. The relatively small number of violent protesters outside of the event (217) were immediately arrested and removed. We did have a bit of light rain, but the weather, for January, could certainly have been much worse. The ceremonies were beautifully done, and Mr. Trump’s Inaugural Address was excellent.
My only disappointment was with SOME of my fellow Inaugural attendees. As I mentioned in my most recent post (See: “Reporting Form Washington”, 1/19/17) one of the major speakers at the Inaguration was Senator Chuck Schumer. Presumably, because of his liberal voting record, he was not, shall we say, popular with the crowd. During what was really a balanced and inspiring speech, Senator Schumer was, on a number of occasions, loudly booed by the audience. I felt that this was not only childlike and rude, but would work to undermine the spirit of bipartisanship that Mr. Trump must have been aiming for with his choice of Mr. Schumer. I felt that members of the audience were basically stooping to the level of uncivilized behavior displayed on numerous occasions recently by the so-called “progressives”, and that it was beneath them to do so. I was able to quell a bit of this nonsense in my area by explaining to my neighbor attendees “Remember folks, Trump PICKED him for this program. Please, show some respect!” That quieted down my area a bit, but, obviously I couldn’t admonish everyone in such a large crowd. Alas, as a consequence, some otherwise patriotic people embarrassed themselves. It didn’t have to happen and it was a shame. But, fortunately, this was the only blemish on an otherwise wonderful and historic day.