The irony that Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Donald J. Trump’s second presidential inauguration coincided should be lost on no one.
The Rev. King was an apostle of nonviolence, unity and equality of opportunity. His message was in accord with constitutional order and basic human rights.
President Trump believes “real power…is fear.” He promotes division and inequity. Due to the decision in “Trump v. United States,” he is now empowered to exact revenge and promote self-interest with maximal presidential immunity and minimal fear of criminal prosecution.
When voters elected Donald J. Trump, did they realize they were also empowering Elon Musk and the other multibillionaire oligarchs who are in transactional league with the president?
Did Trump voters realize they were casting a vote against “government of the people, by the people, for the people”?
Did they realize they were instead endorsing government over and against the people, by multibillionaire oligarchs, for multibillionaire oligarchs?
In his essay “The Crack-Up,” (Esquire Magazine, February 1936), F. Scott Fitzgerald stated: “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function. One should, for example, be able to see that things are hopeless and yet be determined to make them otherwise.”
The next four years will severely test the intelligence of the American people.
Andrew Bjelland, Salt Lake City
