Sad
Friday
Tonight, President Obama closed his farewell address to the nation by repeating the promise he made to all Americans in his campaign and at his victory in 2008: "Yes, we can." Who could ever forget that phrase? Now, eight years later, for the last time, he reminded us of the power of hope and faith: "Yes, we did," he told the nation tonight. "Yes, we can."
Donald
Trump will be sworn in as President of the United States on Friday, January 20,
2017. I find it ironic that his inauguration falls on a Friday. I have also,
all my life, been stunned and horrified that the day that commemorates the
execution of Jesus Christ, observed on a Friday, is called Good Friday.
Why isn’t it called what it is: The Crucifixion of Jesus? Bad Friday? Sad Friday?
It is, of course, because most Christians believe what the Bible tells us:
that Jesus Christ suffered and shed his blood for us to save us from our
sins, and He rose with glory from the dead on Easter Sunday.
Barack
Obama isn’t going to come back on Sunday, January 22, to redeem this country.
There won’t be salvation for the sins of those who voted the monster Donald
Trump into office.
I
think of Friday, January 20 as a tragedy. A death. To me, Barack Obama is
Christ-like, not because I confuse him with who most Christians believe to be
the son of God. No, I don't believe he is divine; I have no
delusions that he is Jesus Christ come again. I don’t worship Mr.
Obama. I say it because he embodies, to me, the human being I aspire to
be, which is the type of person Jesus was. I grieve because Friday is the
day that I am losing my beloved President, Barack Obama, to the evil likes of
Satan. I feel like it is, indeed, a crucifixion of sorts. When President
Obama’s term officially ends at noon on that Sad Friday, I hope somewhere in
this nation a moment of silence is observed. If I flew the flag, it would be at
half-staff. I feel that God has forsaken not just me, but all of us.
To
me, President Obama is a hero. He is also human, of course. He has his faults.
But he has done a magnificent job, and he has been respected worldwide. And now
he has to go away. In ten days, he leaves the White House to a narcissist who
ran for the office as a publicity stunt and never thought he would win – and
now that he has, he and his family will probably not even care to live in the
White House. I cannot even imagine Melania Trump as the First Lady, although
I’m told that she has more common sense than her spouse does. How could
this have been allowed to happen? Barack Obama was a President who made America
great; what pride I have felt during this past eight years. More than once I've
heard people lament the fact that he couldn't run for a third term; I
understand that U.S. Presidents get but two. But couldn’t the Republicans have
nominated and run a sane, ethical woman or man to take the torch from Barack
Obama if their party won? Why and how could this have been allowed to happen in
the United States of America, my country? I thought there were already written
provisions in place to prevent an unfit fool from ascending to the highest
office in the land. The United States is already shifting from being admired to
becoming a worldwide laughingstock. I bow my head in shame even though it isn’t
my personal doing. I didn’t vote for the man, but I am an American and Donald
Trump is going to be President of the United States, which means he will be my
president. But Donald Trump will never have my respect. I find even the thought
of hearing Hail to the Chief being played for Donald
Trump reprehensible; in fact, incomprehensible.
To
me, Barack Obama has always exuded an aura of kindness, compassion, wisdom, and
hope. Every time I see a picture of him, or watch a video of him speaking, I
just break out into a smile. He has always been my sunshine – our sunshine. And
the First Lady, Michelle Obama, exemplifies the class and grace that we haven’t
seen since the Jackie Kennedy days. Malia and Sasha were kept under the radar,
as it should be, but never did either of them bring shame upon that
family. Nor scandal. Nor embarrassment. Never on President Obama’s watch
did anything occur to cause him censure. He never had to proclaim, “I am not a
crook.” There was no Watergate. There was no tabloid drama. Our country has had
eight years of grace, led by a respected man who is – yes – from Illinois,
where I live, which I suppose contributes to my loyalty. I have been so proud
to be an American – to say “This is our President! This is our First Lady!” I
have felt nothing but trust, joy, and hope as I have watched President Barack
Obama lead our country with such elegance, genuine charisma, compassion,
wisdom, and an affect that I can only describe as noble and dignified.
On
January 20, I won’t be sitting in front of the TV. I will be in the car with my
friend Marie and our four cats, en route to our vacation spot in Port
Charlotte, Florida. We won't be listening to the live broadcast; instead, we'll
have music. Each of us has made a playlist of songs which we’ll listen to as a
protest while this travesty is taking place.
Marie’s
is different, she says. Hers starts with the election of Trump. I chose to
start mine with Bill Clinton’s campaign; I didn't bother with Bush. President
Obama didn't have a campaign song that I know of, so I segued to Hillary
Clinton’s nomination, her hopes and dreams, the early warnings of disaster with
the rise of Trump, a flicker of hope after the debates, and the terrible night
of the election. I cried for almost two hours after it was announced that
Mrs. Clinton had phoned Donald Trump, and her concession speech the following
day left me too numb for more tears. I’m know I’m not the only one who
reacted to this surreal Donald Trump victory with shock and horror,
followed by fear and depression.
My
playlist continues with the absolute worst-case scenarios that go through my
mind when I can’t sleep: Trump’s seeming disdain for the poor, his legitimization
of the scathing racism and sexism that have lurked in the deepest bowels of
ignorant human minds, his cruel deportation threats, his name-calling, his lack
of concern for the environment, and the fear of war that his actions are
generating. I add the prayers, my own and those that came from the pulpit of my
own mainstream United Methodist Church, although I ask God to give me strength.
Our pastor prays for God to give Mr. Trump the ability to succeed, although I
think the odds are against it. And I will continue to fight for justice in any
way that I can. My playlist turns to hope and to the will to survive, and to my
vow to live my life as a strong, positive woman who will stand up for what’s
right, rather than lying down and sucking this up.
I
end my songlist with Sir Paul McCartney’s moving tribute to President Barack
Obama at the White House in a live performance of Hey, Jude with the
President and First Lady and Malia and Sasha singing along:
“Hey
Jude, don't make it bad
Take
a sad song and make it better…
"…
and any time you feel the pain, hey Jude, refrain
Don't
carry the world upon your shoulders,
For
well, you know that it's a fool who plays it cool
By
making his world a little colder…..
"...and
don't you know that it's just you, hey Jude, you'll do
The
movement you need is on your shoulder…
"Then
you'll begin to make it
Better,
better, better, better, better oh
Nah
nah nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah, hey Jude.”
Nah
nah nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah, hey Jude."
Here
is my playlist:
ELECTION BLUES
Don't
Stop (Official Live Version) - Fleetwood Mac
High
Hopes - Frank Sinatra
Watch
Out! - Holly Near
Nowhere
Man - The Beatles
God
is Sleeping/You've Got to be Taught - Ann Reed
Bad
Moon Rising - Creedence Clearwater Revival
I
Have a Dream - ABBA
I
Dreamed a Dream - Susan Boyle
It
Could Have Been Close - Tret Fure
Isn't
Life Strange? - The Moody Blues
The
Times, They are a-Changin' - Simon and Garfunkel
In
My Hour of Darkness - Gram Parsons
Calling
All Angels - Eliza Gilkyson
God
Give Me Strength - Elvis Costello with Burt Bacharach
Chiquitita
- ABBA
Who
Brought the Flood? - Debra Cowan
Way
Down - Bonnie Koloc
Chilling
of the Evening - Arlo Guthrie
Eve
of Destruction - Barry McGuire
Greenfields
- Eliza Gilkyson (written by her father, Terry Gilkyson)
Dancing
at Whitsun - Priscilla Herdman
The
Band Played Waltzing Matilda - Priscilla Herdman
The
Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll - Phranc
Requiem
for the Giant Trees - Eileen McGann
Ohio
- Dala
Trouble
in the Fields - Maura O'Connell with Nanci Griffith
Ruins
by the Shore - Debra Cowan
The
Blackest Crow - Bruce Molsky with Julie Fowlis
Crow
on the Cradle - Trapezoid
Blessed
- Simon and Garfunkel
Hallelujah
- Jeff Buckley
Hard
Times Come Again No More - Eastmountainsouth
Kumbaya
- Joan Baez in Concert
From
a Distance - Judy Collins
Little
People - Les Miserables Cast
I
Want to Live - John Denver
Mountain
Song - Holly Near
Talkin'
Bout a Revolution - Tracy Chapman
I've
Seen All the Good People - Yes
Singing
for Our Lives - Holly Near and Ronnie Gilbert
Do
You Hear the People Sing? - Les Miserables Cast
Hey
Jude - Live Performance - Sir Paul McCartney
"Yes, we can!" I pray that you are right, Mr. President.
