A tarnished legacy?

"This is also the week we celebrate the life of Martin Luther King. Like John Lewis, also a civil rights icon. If anything this week, in the spirit of Dr. King, Americans should come together. But no."

This coming Friday is inauguration day. It is a day every red blooded American should celebrate. It does not matter if the person being sworn in is your candidate or not. It does not matter if you are Republican, Democrat, Libertarian or Socialist. It does not matter if you are black or white, Christian or Jew, from the north or from the south. All that matters is that you want to witness what many countries on this planet do not have. And that would be a peaceful transition of power.

Unfortunately, this entire upcoming week, especially Friday, is going to be tarnished. Why? Because many on the Left are refusing to accept the outcome of the November election. The cry of "Not my President" is going up from both coasts as well as the progressive enclave of the Twin Cities. Even a pioneer in the civil rights movement, a man who wanted fair opportunity for every American, will not attend the inauguration.

Wait - there has to be some mistake! This is also the week we celebrate the life of Martin Luther King. Like John Lewis, also a civil rights icon. If anything this week, in the spirit of Dr. King, Americans should come together. But no. Mass protests are planned from every wacky leftie organization you could imagine. Even though President Elect Trump has not been sworn in as yet, has not signed anything into law as yet, has not spent one night in the White House as yet, he is being vilified. This is the reverse of Barack Obama, when he was given the Noble Peace Prize for what he might do. 

What we will be seeing this week is the ugly offspring of the sixties generation. That is when this division started. And every decade the division has become deeper and more toxic. The Left and the Right never talk to each other anymore. They talk (or mostly yell) at each other instead. As much as Obama promised to bring us all together in a "post racial America", just the opposite has happened. Things are so bad now that innocent cops are being executed on the street.

This next week would have been an excellent opportunity - no, a golden opportunity for a icon of the civil rights movement like John Lewis to step forward and be an example for all to admire and follow. For Representative Lewis to say, "I did not vote for President Elect Trump, but I look forward to seeing him sworn in on Friday. And even thought I might not support all of his positions while President, I, like every other American, will do what we can to help him succeed."

Instead he told Chuck Todd of Meet the Press, "He is not my President." He doubts the legitimacy of Trump's Presidency. He is so bitter about the election, he, along with other Democrats, are not going to attend the inauguration. This man John Lewis, for most of his life preached a fair shake for everyone, is not going to give President Elect Trump the same honor. 

There is a saying I learned when I was in the business world. I will clean it up slightly for this article. "One ah shoot, wipes out a whole lot of atta boys." Well Congressman Lewis, this is a huge "ah shoot" moment for you. Decades of atta boys will be forgotten. And if not forgotten, tarnished. I have admired you sir, for what you have done in the past. But this week, your star will dim quite a bit.