When I saw this photo of President Obama and President-elect Trump shaking hands [click the link, it’s not public domain], this was my reaction:
They look like men shaking hands at a funeral. And I mean that in a good way.
It is possible to undertake an unpleasant task with both seriousness and good grace.
Here’s another photo that is public domain, from the same meeting. If President Obama can be cheerful, surely we can put off our gloom?
My initial reactions Wednesday morning were threefold, and fourth quickly followed:
- I was astonished that Donald Trump had won. Truly astonished.
- I felt great relief knowing we would not, therefore, be experiencing a Clinton presidency. I was surprised at how strong my sense of relief was, when I had essentially accepted that reality as what we were going to get.
- I was consoled that at least we could now hope for a working fourth estate. Please, ladies and gentlemen of the press, do your work.
- I was pleasantly surprised by reports of the sobriety with which Mr. Trump transitioned into office-elect.
My thoughts immediately turned to another politician who did what was needful when the moment came:
It was just at this period that King Stephen died and the young monarch Henry II became unquestioned master of the kingdom. He took “Thomas of London”, as Becket was then most commonly called, for his chancellor, and in that office Thomas at the age of thirty-six became, with the possible exception of the justiciar, the most powerful subject in Henry’s wide dominions.
. . . Archbishop Theobald died in 1161, and in the course of the next year Henry seems to have decided that it would be good policy to prepare the way for further schemes of reform by securing the advancement of his chancellor to the primacy.
. . . A great change took place in the saint’s way of life after his consecration as archbishop. Even as chancellor he had practised secret austerities, but now in view of the struggle he clearly saw before him he gave himself to fastings and disciplines, hair shirts, protracted vigils, and constant prayers. Before the end of the year 1162 he stripped himself of all signs of the lavish display which he had previously affected.
St. Thomas Becket proceeded to exasperate his friend the king at every turn by the unexpected seriousness with which he took on his new office. That exasperation eventually led to the saint’s martyrdom.
Donald Trump could surprise us just as wonderfully. Pray that he will — though without the martyrdom, Lord willing.
Related:
Brandon at Siris on the implications of protesting a free and fair election:
But the anti-Trump protests people are having in various cities are annoying me. Are they protests of specific voting injustices? No. The protesters are protesting voting itself. I have no sympathy whatsoever for this. It is, frankly, revolting, as if the United States were some tinpot fresh-from-dictatorship little country, without any sense of due process or the importance of elections, both essential to American honor. Good-faith negotiation is one of the key principles of a free society; and if you have a problem with the fact that you can be outvoted by people whose views are distant from your own, protesting the fact now is a sign that your participation in the election was not in good faith.
Jim Curley at Bethune Catholic as usual sums up what I do think (and when not that, what I *should* think):
In other words, (my interpretation), if we as a people live our lives correctly, the country will be taken care of, including having good choices at the ballot box.
What we had this year is the two major candidates who reflect who we are and how we live as a people. Think on that for a bit. Angry, immoral (or amoral), bigoted, sexually immature, animalistic, liars, and cheaters.
. . . we will go a long way for the future of the country if we as citizens reform our own lives.
One other (final) point. I have gotten many emails throughout the election season saying I need to vote for Trump because this priest or that priest gave a homily or talk saying so. (“Hilary is evil, Trump is just bad”). The problem is that politics is mostly in the realm of the laity. We should follow guidelines on voting from the Church, but how to play the political game is the laity’s. So many people hid behind the cassocks of clergy to justify a vote for Trump. I still don’t believe there was any justification. I hope I am wrong.
And here’s what I said to my good friend and colleague Kathy Schiffer, who endorsed Trump (So wrong! But I love you anyway!), in discussing the election results:
One thing I *won’t* do is attack a politician for something that’s not actually happening.
It’s one thing to inform yourself in an election based on past behavior. But I won’t be slinging criticisms for the dark joy of it. If he wants my disapproval of his presidency, he’ll have to earn it
.
May our president-elect marvel us with unexpected wisdom, diplomacy, and integrity.
***
My main response to the post-election riots and Calexit is in the form of a bit of satire over at Patheos. It upset some people; if you don’t like dark humor, please read some other blogger. To keep abreast of my list of recommended reading, follow either my @JenFitz_Reads account on Twitter or the corresponding (and essentially identical) JenFitzWrites page on Facebook. I nearly never converse at those locations, but I do feed a lot of interesting reading, both from my feed reader and links other people suggest.
For civilized conversation on all the dark and heated topics I cover on both blogs (and the odd pleasant topic as well), the place to look is my blog discussion group on Facebook. I am not always there, but if I’m active online, I look when in I can. Readers are welcome to post non-spam links of interest and converse without me, that’s the point of the group.
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