Eventually Trump became the president of the United States of America.
An era of Trump has begun at last.
Invited to his inauguration ceremony, I left for Washington, the city where I used to live for over twenty years.
Simultaneously with our candle light protests, there are numerous protests in many American cities, people are lining up for immigration to Canada, shouting "Not my President" due to the disappointment at the result of the presidential election. The United States seems to be divided into two.
I believed in America's openness, democracy, and its great spirit of uniting and embracing one another despite great conflicts. With the slightest hope, as if I'm praying, I attended the presidential inauguration, which I used to watch only on TV when I was living in Washington.
The rumors say that Trump, having been offended by the fact that the oppositional party members of Korea visited China regarding the deployment of the THAAD missiles, decided not to invite them. The current political situation in Korea, however, would not allow them to attend the presidential inauguration of another country. Not only our leader and our government but also the heads of the conglomerates in Korea, who would have willingly attended the ceremony given the economic and security issues between the two countries, cannot even move an inch due to the special prosecution.
I usually think that communication among ordinary people is way more important than any affectless summit talks in dealing with conflicts between two countries. Therefore, in this urgent period, on January 20, the day of the presidential inauguration ceremony, I head for the Capitol accompanied by five people, holding a big invitation letter from the U.S. Congress.
It was drizzling a little, but the temperature was a mild 12 degrees Celcius. The city center, stimulated by the Inaugural Ball the night before, was calm and quiet. At the scene, it was said that the crowd was rather smaller than that from the time of Obama’s inauguration and there were anti-Trump protesters standing face to face with the Police.
Trump stayed at the Blair House, right across from the White House, attended a service at St. John’s Church next door, had teatime with Obama (it is peculiar that Trump had a hot chocolate at 10 in the morning) and arrived for his inauguration.
After the four former presidents, Carter, Clinton, Bush, and Obama, had been seated, Trump and Vice-president-elect Pence entered. During the inauguration oath, Trump put his hands on two Bibles: one was a present from his mother on the occasion of his graduation from Sunday school in 1955 and the other used to belong to former President Lincoln. The ceremony continued with the inaugural prayers and address.
I was not even comparing it to Obama’s inaugural address and his countless speeches, but his sixteen-minute speech, lacking a message of unity and any vision or philosophy for the future of humanity, was rather disappointing, especially when I flew for fourteen hours from Seoul after having canceled an appointment in Japan on the same day. “We will bring back our jobs. We will bring back our borders. We will bring back our wealth. and we will bring back our dreams,” “From this moment on, it’s going to be America First,” declared Trump. He boasted that it is the first day of accomplishing a history the world has never seen.
During the campaign some exaggeration and populism could be utilized as a means to get elected. The United States of America, the country I know of, has at least always declared its great tolerance and embracement of all human beings who are hurt and divided at the time of presidential inaugurations. It has always touched and inspired the world to heal and rehabilitate.
Trump’s inaugural address, however, was identical with his campaign speech geared towards only his supporters. No, it had become more determined and stronger. He used dark and negative vocabularies such as “carnage”, “rusted-out factories”, “an education system… which leaves our young and beautiful students deprived of knowledge”, “the crime” “guns” “drugs” and so on. Being pointed out his lack of political experience, he generalized and harshly criticized all the politicians. When he was mentioning “empty talks”, it almost sounded like he was targeting Obama who was famous for his moving speeches. Actually, I saw the frowning faces of the four former presidents including Obama on the TV screen afterwards, and it was so obvious that they all felt insulted.
Just as his tough address suggested, he has been signing on executive orders to abolish Obamacare, deport illegal immigrants, to withdraw from the TPP, etc. since Day-1. Mexico, Japan, Europe, and many other countries must be appalled. I truly worry about what kind of attitude we should have as a tiny country; the only divided one in the world, surround by powerful nations and surviving only through exports.
America is the strongest and the wealthiest country on earth and is respected as a leader of the world in many aspects such as innovative ideas and creativity. I think it is not good for America at all that it all of a sudden turns towards nationalism only for its own benefit. I am deeply worried that my second home country, beloved America, might suffer from a counteroffensive for such a course of actions.
Witnessing the new president’s roaring and hostile attitude, I felt really down although I was in Washington, the city with memories of my youth, a good environment, and my good old friends, but I am making great efforts to keep my mind positive and I hold onto a strap of hope.
Come to think of it, the inaugural ceremony for the 45th president and vice-president of America was in a way one beautiful church service. During an hour-and-two-minute ceremony, besides the inaugural oath and address, the remaining time was devoted to prayers led by six people. “Rain in Bible was a sign of God’s blessing” “We ask that you give him the Wisdom of Solomon” prayed they.
In the morning of his inauguration, right before the last teatime with Obama at the White house, he prayed at a church and took on oath in front of the whole world putting his right hand (my poet mother once called the right hand “the righteous hand”) on the words of God given by his mother. Right after his first night on the bed that used to belong to President Lincoln, he prayed and he attended a service at the National Cathedral in Washington as the first event of the day. He himself said that God has to help him more than anything. When reporters asked him what the first thing he did on his first and the second day was, he answered that he prayed.
He must have went through so much until he became super rich, and he must have realized by now that it is heaven that leads one to make plans in one’s mind. In the middle of Washington, the capital of the world’s most powerful country, I, if not all, strongly hold onto a strap of hope that he will eventually be led to the right way for the human beings in this more connected world, for my own country and for the United States of America.
