The inauguration
of Donald Trump as President of the United States (POTUS) was held on Friday,
20
January 2017. President Trump is the 45th POTUS, and the transition
in power was peaceful. As in all the other transitions of power in the United
States, there were no tanks running in the streets or bullets fired. The new
President took the oath of office, and the previous President got in Marine I
and left Washington, D.C.
Article II, Section I of the Constitution stipulates the oath of office for the President of the United
States to be sworn during the inauguration.
Before he enters on the
Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation: --
“I do solemnly swear (or affirm)
that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United
States, and will to the best of
my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the
United States.”
The job of POTUS is not an easy
job. The difficulty of the job is shown is the way Presidents age during their
usual eight years in office. Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama all
aged greatly during their time in office. The office of President and each person
that becomes President should be treated with respect whether or not people
agree with the President’s policies.
In September 1988 Jeffery R.Holland was President at Brigham Young University (BYU) and spoke at a
devotional welcoming the students back to school. He joked about the presidential
campaign of that year and then
changed
to an important matter.
BYU was in their final salute to
the bicentennial anniversary of the U.S. Constitution. President Holland spoke
of a special film was that would premiere on 30 April 1989, the bicentennial
anniversary of George Washington’s first inauguration. He obviously had great
respect for President Washington.
“Surely when the Lord speaks in
section 101 of the Doctrine and Covenants of raising up `wise men’ for the
founding of this nation and the establishment of constitutional government, he
must have been speaking first and foremost of George Washington. As unassuming
as he was, Washington’s impact on the new republic and on the framing of its
government was greater than that of any other living man. His prestige as the
victorious colonial general was immense, and his character, his very presence,
inspired confidence.
“Note this language used by a
journalist of the day to describe Washington’s arrival for that first
inauguration. It is unclear whether the writer is describing royalty or deity.
`It is impossible to do justice … to …
the scene exhibited on his Excellency’s approach to the city. Innumerable
multitudes thronged the shores, the wharves, and the shipping --- waiting with …
anticipation his arrival…
“`This great occasion arrested the publick
attention beyond all powers of description…. All ranks and professions
expressed thief feelings, in loud acclamations, and with rapture hailed the
arrival of the FATHER OF HIS COUNTRY…
“`The scene … was … beyond any descriptive
powers of the pen to do justice to – How universal … the sentiments of respect
and veneration!—All ranks [exclaimed,] “WELL,
HE DESERVES IT ALL!”
“`The spontaneous [expressions] of gratitude … are the highest reward that
virtue enjoys, …
“`Many persons … were heard to say, that they
should now die contented – nothing being wanted to complete their happiness …
but the sight of the Saviour of [their new nation]. [From the Connecticut Courant of 4 May 1789, in
Everett Carll Ladd, The American Polity (New
York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1987), pp. 72-73]
President Holland explained that
the above information was written two hundred years previously, and the “adulation
is still nearly the same in both tone and content. Listen to this from a
resolution passed by Congress and read by the President of the United States on
the two-hundredth anniversary of Washington’s birth:
“Washington has come to personify the American Republic. He presided
over the convention that framed our Constitution. The weight of his great name
was the deciding factor in securing its adoption by the States. These results
of could never have been secured had it not been recognized that he would be
the first President. When we realize what it meant to take 13 distracted
colonies, impoverished, envious, and hostile, and weld them into an orderly
federation under the authority of a central government, we can form some
estimate of the influence of this great man….
“We have seen many soldiers who
have left behind them little but the memory of their conflicts; but … the power
to establish among a great people a form of self-government which the test of
experience has shown will endure was bestowed upon Washington, and Washington
alone…. His was the directing spirit without which there would have been no
independence, no Union, no Constitution, and no Republic. His ways were the
ways of truth. He built for eternity. His influence grows. His stature
increases with the increasing years. In wisdom of action, in purity of
character, he stands alone. We cannot yet estimate him. We can only indicate
our reverence for him and thank the Divine Providence which sent him to serve
and inspire his fellow men. [Handbook of the George Washington Appreciation
Course for Teachers and Students (Washington, D.C.: U.S. George
Washington Bicentennial Commission, 1932), pp. vii-viii]
President Holland then explained
that he had at least two reasons for his long tribute to Washington. “The first
is because he is a genuine hero, and I have always wanted to make some public
expression about the truly remarkable man I believe he was. I think we may
never fully appreciate the magnitude of his impact upon those neonatal days of
this nation when it could have so easily died aborning.
“The second reason is to draw
all of this closer to home, to see what lessons Washington and his age have for
us here at the start of another school year at BYU. To make that transition I
quote a recent BYU visitor, political pundit and journalistic gadfly Garry
Willis. Said he:
“`[In an election year] we get the presidents we deserve. A great
people is what you need for a great president. Washington was the greatest
president, because the people were at their most enlightened and alert.
[America] right now is escapist. It wants
to be soothed, and told it doesn’t have to pay or sacrifice or learn.’ [“Things
That Matter,” Vis a Vis, July 1988,
p. 70; emphasis added]
President Holland then asked an
important question: “Can that possibly be true, that the people made Washington great? That they, as well as he, were `at their most enlightened and alert’?”
He then asked the college students what that meant to them.
I ask now, “What does this mean
for us?” We had two people as the candidates for President of the United States
that no one liked. Republicans and others consider Hillary Clinton as a
criminal and should be in prison. Liberals and others consider Donald Trump to
be even worse. I saw man on one of the main streets of Anchorage – in 8 degree
weather – waving a sign that said, “Impeach Trump.” President Trump had been in
office maybe six hours. How could he have done anything that was impeachable in
that short time and with everything else he was doing today?
What kind of a President do we
want? We must determine this for ourselves and then become that kind of person.
If enough of us become the kind of people that the founding generation was,
then we might – just might – elect a President like George Washington. Maybe We
The People can make Donald Trump a good President!
No comments:
Post a Comment