Expecting Something Different from a President Trump

As the final minutes of 2016 tick down, I have some thoughts about the coming year.

Foremost is the hope that Americans are not complacent in our outlook that everything is going to be okay under the Trump Administration. Our unity of purpose and survival as a nation of people who protect freedom and liberty for all citizens, work to expand equal rights and protection from discrimination, is at risk.

It is at risk because those in power are now the wealthiest and most "conservative" group of leaders and appointees with agendas to dismantle so much of the progress we have achieved in expanded medical insurance and access to quality care, protection of the environment, scientific inquiry and research to benefit all mankind, defending the environment and seeking energy alternatives, defending equal rights and tolerance of minority rights and issues.

The partisanship implicit in the plans to dismantle ACA, minimum wage, LBGT recognition, women's right to choose, limit access to abortion and family planning and women's healthcare,  are all just the beginning to be followed by plans to privatize Medicare and Social Security, shift to a fossil fuel based energy policy, and so on.

Lastly, the new President is going to behave as erratically and impulsively as he did throughout his life and campaign. He will always be the exception to any rules and conventions, the smartest in the world, the best loved and respected of men, the final arbiter of any matter or decision to be made, and blameless for any misadventure.

We can not expect anything different than what he has shown us. He is in all likelihood unable to change his behavior, ambitions, or insatiable need for attention. Going to be some rough times ahead and a Nation at odds with itself as we struggle to accept the leadership and actions of the most dangerous man in the world, one whom will become dangerous with each day that passes.

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