This past Monday, I wore an American flag necklace to work. With it, I chose the red version of my work t-shirt, with a blue shirt underneath. As you might expect, employees aren’t allowed to wear any overtly political clothing or accessories while on the job, so the patriotic look was my way of celebrating Donald Trump’s inauguration as our 47th president, without making it explicit that that was what I was doing. If anyone had asked, which they didn’t, I figured that I could somewhat plausibly claim that my patriotic look was in honor of Martin Luther King Day.
When I first had the idea of wearing the flag necklace, I couldn’t find it. This is because, at some point after the 2020 election, I gathered all of my possessions with American flags on them and decided to throw them away. While growing up, I had always considered myself a patriotic person. I loved learning about, and memorizing fun facts about, American history, presidents, the 50 states, and all the different countries of the world. I loved flags and had accumulated numerous pins, jewelry, clothing, mugs, decor, and stationery adorned with them, not to mention actual flags themselves of various sizes. But given that the United States had collectively decided to destroy everything that made my life worth living, and then confirmed this decision by making Biden president, I hated America. Obviously, from that point on, every future president would be either a Democrat, or a Republican so moderate and devoid of principles that he/she might as well be a Democrat. My country had betrayed me, betrayed the ideals upon which it was founded, and betrayed everything that it was supposed to stand for. The odds that Donald Trump would ever be able to win the Republican nomination for president in such a country, let alone become president again, were precisely zero. My patriotic possessions had become just another painful reminder of this sickening reality, and so I decided to get rid of them.
But something made me hesitate. So instead of putting them into the trash can, I hid away my flag items in my spare room.
By the time the impossible occurred, I had forgotten where I had put them. But after spending part of my Sunday night searching, I located my flag necklace. Not only did I proudly wear it to work, but when looking at the pins, mugs, flags, et cetera that were stashed away with it I realized…. that there was nothing wrong with them. No reason to put them in the trash, and no reason to keep them hidden away out of sight. I looked at my patriotic items with new eyes, just as I now look at my country with a sense of pride that I thought had been permanently lost. America is the country that has elected Donald Trump president!
I was able to watch some of the inauguration coverage before work, and coverage of the inaugural balls when I returned home. The experience of watching and following a major news event that is actually positive for once, has been a joy.
Here are a few of my favorite moments from the inauguration:
- Fox News commentators describing the “sunshine” that Trump supporters brought despite the bitter cold temperatures, as well as criticizing other media outlets that have “done so little to illuminate the situation and so much to stifle debate.”
- The symbolic significance of the fact that the inauguration took place in the Capitol Rotunda, the site of what this article calls the “Jan. 6 riot.” (Sorry to be pedantic, but there was actually no such thing as a “Jan. 6 riot.” There was, however, a Jan. 6 protest, which I assume is what the article is referring to.)
- The amazing and passionate rendition of “Oh, America!” by Christopher Macchio
- People chanting “USA” in the Capitol Visitor Center
- Barron Trump, now 18, observing the proceedings with a solemn face but occasionally cracking a smile, such as while shaking hands with Elon Musk
- Trump attempting to kiss Melania on the cheek but having difficulty doing so because of her wide-brimmed hat
- The invocation / sermon before the swearing-in. “Mr. President, there are times over the past four years I’m sure you thought it was pretty dark,” said the religious official giving the sermon (apologies for forgetting his name).
- Trump pointing and smiling at Justice Brett Kavanaugh after taking the oath of office
- The ceremonial firing of cannons and the playing of Hail to the Chief
- Trump nodding happily along with the U.S. Naval Academy Glee Club’s rendition of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”
- The stunning, a cappella performance of “America the Beautiful” by Carrie Underwood
- Watching Jason Aldean, and later the Village People, perform during the Liberty Ball while the Fox News commentators discussed the day’s events.
- The commentary and discussion during the inaugural balls. “It feels like America has been saved,” one commentator stated. “It feels like a weight has been lifted off of our shoulders.” Other commentators criticized the Trump-bashing among the rest of the media, using words like “condescending” and “self-awareness level zero.”
Here are a few of my favorite quotes from Trump’s inaugural address:
- “The golden age of America begins right now. From this day forward, our country will flourish and will be respected all over the world.”
- “The scales of justice will be rebalanced. And the vicious, violent, and unfair weaponization of the justice department and our government will end.”
- “We have an education system that teaches our children to be ashamed of themselves… all of this will change starting today and it will change very quickly.”
- “A horrible betrayal”
- “We will give the people back their wealth, their democracy, and indeed their freedom.”
- “From this moment on, America’s decline is over.”
- “I have been tested and challenged more than any president in our 248-year history.”
- “Those who have tried to stop our cause have tried to take my freedom and indeed my life.”
- “January 20, 2025 is liberation day!”
After his swearing-in, Trump signed a slew of executive orders, both at Capitol One Arena and in the Oval Office. These included:
- Pardoning 1,500 people who participated in the January 6 protest (who should never have been charged with crimes in the first place)
- Ending DEI programs within the federal government
- Ending federal government censorship of Americans
- Re-hiring, with full back pay, all soldiers who had been fired for objecting to vaccine mandates (a commentator on Fox News correctly called it “outrageous” that vaccine mandates existed in the first place)
- Ending birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants
- Recognizing only two genders
- Withdrawing the US from the World Health Organization
- Changing the name of Denali back to Mt. McKinley
- Re-naming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America (thereby honoring Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci!)
- Calling for recommendations to beautify the architecture of federal buildings
The one negative aspect of watching Trump’s inauguration was seeing the statues in the Capitol building, which of course reminded me of the statues that are supposed to be there but aren’t, due to the actions of intolerant bullies. And this reminded me of the larger fact that Trump’s victory cannot fully undo the atrocities that were done regarding statues over the past four years. Things like this will always be worth mentioning, because what happened to the statues is not okay and should never be forgotten. But overall, Inauguration Day was a wonderful day both for our country and for me personally.
Here are some of the best social media posts about Trump’s inauguration:
