No celebration
Eight years ago I was staying at a remote tent “resort” in Thailand on the day Barack Obama was inaugurated. The only place in this complex that had electricity was the dining area. I had noticed the night before that there was a television in that room.
On the morning of the inauguration, I awoke in the middle of the night local time and stumbled in the dark to the dining room and turned on the TV. As I sat alone and watched with tears rolling down my face, another guest (a Danish clergyman) walked in. He looked at me and said, “Congratulations to you, congratulations to your country, congratulations to the world.” Now there are no congratulations around the world. Now there is only fear. On Friday we inaugurated as president a man who has major conflicts of interest, refuses to release his tax returns, spews lies and hateful rhetoric, disdains the press, declares NATO to be obsolete, encourages other nations to develop nuclear weapons, promotes an agenda that will make the rich richer and the poor poorer, may destroy the rights of women and minorities, could bring our nation into conflict with major world powers and (most frightening of all) destroy all efforts to protect our environment from the ravages of climate change.
The world is not celebrating, and neither am I. Barbara Sobin-Rosen, Fullerton
What looked like an impossible dream months ago has become a reality.
President Trump’s motto of “Make America Great Again” will be put to the test. This is a historic moment in time, one we will all remember.
Good luck, Mr. President. George Vreeland Hill
Beverly Hills
Wow. Still in campaign mode, Trump managed to deliver yet again another nasty, insulting and meanspirited tirade disguised as an inauguration speech.
His complete disregard for everyone who came before him was truly horrible and painful to watch, let alone listen to. The depths of his narcissism has no limit and he truly is a complete embarrassment to this country.
Believe what you see. The truth is frightening. Frances Terrell Lippman
Sherman Oaks
I am 66 years old and have never missed an inaugural address.
This year is unlike any other. I can easily say I am ashamed and frighted for our upcoming four years. I have never been so scared about the fate of this country. Our allies around the world must be equally scared and confused.
I dread what might happen, and although I’m not a religious woman, I might actually pray now. God help us all. Pamela Zivkovic
Newhall
While the president presents some interesting challenges, he is only a messenger. The parties and media had better wake up and do some self examining.
A large percentage of the population is not happy with the way things are going, economically and socially, and the parties need to address this. Also, the media need to reevaluate. Candidate Trump was considered a joke, a publicity stunt and got a lot superficial coverage; it was assumed he would drop out. They failed to ask a lot of hard questions.
Now we have President Trump. Maybe if the media treated every candidate with equal respect and coverage, no matter how unlikely the odds are that the candidate will succeed, then the vetting process would be more thorough. Tony Schaffer
Los Angeles