TODAY IS NOT A HAPPY DAY

Today is not a happy day, it's not a joyous day, it's not a day of renewed hope, it's not a day to be proud or to feel patriotic in any sense. Today is not a day to enjoy the pageantry, protocol and traditions of a ceremony as old as our country.

Instead, today is the day a convicted felon, adjudicated rapist, narcissist, pathological liar and a man rated by experts as the WORST president in our nation's history is again installed into the most powerful position in the world. Today represents hate and fear winning out over love and hope; it represents the power that lies and propaganda have to move people to vote against their own best interests; it represents the failure of our judicial system to hold a man accountable for his crimes; it proves that if you’re wealthy enough and run for office, you can evade the rule of law.

Today is a day of great sadness; it’s a day to begin mourning the loss of democracy, civility, decency, fairness, diversity, morals, transparency; to witness once again the rise and norming of deception, corruption, hypocrisy, financial inequity, racism, bigotry.

Today is a day to be fearful of the impending loss of freedom and rights for so many human beings in this country; to be worried about the 100 "shock and awe" executive orders expected to be signed this afternoon and those coming in the following days, weeks, months, years; to watch hopelessly as the progress of the last four years is destroyed, our nation's coffers are pillaged and the systems, regulations and institutions that exist to protect us are dismantled.

Nope. Today is not a happy day.