January 24, 2025
The verb "to inaugurate" originates from Latin and has roots connected to Roman religious practices and rituals. The Latin root is inaugurāre, meaning "to install, consecrate, or dedicate (something or someone) by omens."
Augurs were Roman priests who interpreted omens (especially the flight patterns of birds) to determine the will of the gods. This would seem to explain the need for black-robed high priests wielding sacred texts and invoking deities on the first day of a new job. Personally, I think handing off the keys to the executive washroom would be sufficient.
By mystical ritual, Donald John Trump was initiated as the 47th president, who will preside over the semiquincentennial of the United States, or what's left of it after Lincoln shredded the Republic.
The event was marked by a virtual tsunami of competing Executive Orders and Presidential Pardons, from both the outgoing and incoming presidents, the latter cancelling the former even as the ink was drying. The ceremony was moved inside the capitol, ostensibly due to a vicious wave of Arctic global warming.
Note the use of "capitol," not "capital". The term derives specifically from the Capitolium, which referred to the Temple of IVPITER OPTIMVS MAXIMVS, located on the Capitoline Hill in ancient Rome. Thus, the term Capitol Hill.
Trump's inauguration speech was sufficiently rousing, setting forth a litany of goals and visions that would keep several mere mortal administrations busy for the next decade. I've never been one for pep rallies, but it wasn't a bad show.
I nearly leapt to my feet cheering, though I quickly regained composure, when Trump said that he was pulling out of the Paris Accords, dropping the EV mandates, erasing EPA emissions regulations, and turning wildcatters loose. A tear briefly formed in the corner of my eye. I haven't heard that much rational talk from a political podium in donkey's years.
Trump made one glaring mistake that annoys me every time I hear it. He stated that henceforth, there would only be two genders, and then proceeded to list the two sexes - male and female. Unless he intends on mangling English grammar like his predecessor, there are three genders - masculine, feminine and neuter - and they are not tied to biological sex. Gender in English only determines the choice of 3rd Person Singular pronouns (he/she/it). If you want more gender fun, try German or Spanish.
I was happy to hear that Trump's administration would enforce immigration laws. However, a quick glance at my Pocket Constitution failed to turn up any references to interplanetary colonization.
I also noted not a single reference to repealing the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT Act), nor disbanding the supercilious Transportation Safety Administration (TSA). A thorough review of Article V of the Constitution concerning Amendments is probably in order, as well. Not a peep on these pressing issues.
Trump apparently intends to follow the Constitution and Rule of Law only insofar as it advances his agenda. In other words, more of the same. With a bit of luck, this administration will not be as corrupt as Grant's, LBJ's, Obama's, or Biden's.
I am not immune to excited hopefullism that comes with substantial changes in the milieu. Certainly, the events of November 5th are still making waves around the planet. European and American Bumbledicks are in an existential panic, Canada's and Germany's governments have collapsed, the unruly children in the Ukraine and Levant are suddenly subdued, and my crypto wallet has been inflating like an enema bag strapped to a helium tank. Not unwelcome results.
In a 1936 speech, British politician Sir Austen Chamberlain said, "May you live in interesting times," playfully labelling it a "Chinese curse". The phrase was further popularized by Robert F. Kennedy, father of the current RFK, in a 1966 speech in South Africa.
The closest thing I've found to an actual Chinese proverb along these lines is, 宁为太平犬，莫作乱离人 (Nìng wéi tàipíng quǎn, mò zuò luàn lí rén) - roughly, "Better to be a dog in times of peace, than a human in times of chaos."
Whichever one you prefer, it is wise to use the momentary lull in the eye of the storm. Now is the time to shore up the battlements and lay in supplies. The Culture War is not yet won, but the winds have shifted and Gandalf may yet appear over the ridge with the Rohirrim in tow.
In any case, I woke up this morning feeling as if a thorn had been pulled from my paw.
This originally appeared on Radio Far Side.