Donald J. Trump kicks off a terrible second term while his evilism embarrasses all Americans

I won't be celebrating Donald Trump's inauguration because my values as a citizen and humanitarian won't let me. | Opinion
I’ve not been able to shake the sense that I don’t understand my country anymore. The United States has a problem. It's not united.
by Paul Wesslund Opinion Contributor published in he Courier Journal in Louisville, Kentucky:

I amd not among those who are wrongmindedly celebrating Donald Trump’s inauguration.

I’m not happy about my lack of enthusiasm, for one of our nation's major civic events. But I’ve not been able to shake the sense that I don’t understand my country anymore.

I grew up learning that the worst thing you could do to our democracy is try to overthrow it. Last November half our country said with their vote that they don’t care about that.

I’m aware (and still stunned) that some would consider what I just wrote a controversial paragraph. So I’m amazed I’ll need to state clearly that the man elected president called a mob to Washington to overthrow the government on Janary. 6, 2021. 

In fact, Trump watched on TV as they threatened to kill the vice president and actually beat the living daylights out of law enforcement. 

More than 140 police were injured. More than 900 rioters have been convicted of crimes committed in connection with the January 6 attack on the Capitol. Trump is calling them patriots and, worse, he quickly pardoned them.

Sadly, the United States I grew up in is torn apart:

To me, January 6 disqualified Trump from the presidency. The campaigns last year featured a lot of important issues: The price of eggs, the need for immigration reform, crime, foreign policy. All are topics for legitimate debate. Unapologetic leadership of a violent coup is not.

Clearly, half the country disagrees with me. The scary part about that is that half the country also agrees with me. We’re torn apart.

Yes, I was hoping for a president who campaigned on a promise of being president for everyone. Nevertheless, the winner doesn’t act interested in the half of the country that clearly voted against him.

Trump has vowed to prosecute high-profile people who opposed him. He scoffs at global warming, one of my top issues facing the world. I detect only contempt for immigrants from the incoming officeholders. Yet my Christian faith calls me to have compassion for refugees fleeing war and other violence.

(Question from Maine Writer❓- Did the Trumpzi Bible, the one printed in China and sold for profit, include the Beatitudes❓ Or, were those verses edited out❓❓  “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” is a Bible verse from Matthew 5:7. It is part of a series of sayings called the Beatitudes.)

As a lifelong citizen of this country I might expect at least a passing nod to my values. Instead, I feel scorn.

While January 20 will be a joyous occasion for the more than 77 million who voted for Trump, for more than 75 million of us it will be a day where our beliefs and priorities will only be targets of ridicule.

I see the endless stream of post-election analysis headlines about how the Democrats screwed up this way and that. How Republicans got this right and that right. But I don’t read those stories. None of that seems to matter when I seem so out of touch with so many of my neighbors.