Very shortly, the 47th president will take office. Some musings as this significant transition approaches:

January 20th is Inauguration Day. This time the pomp and ceremony feels false and hollow. The President-Elect has stated that he will ignore the Constitution for at least one day. Given his desire to be a king or dictator, not a president, it is easy to imagine that the Constitution will be ignored for more than one day. Placing his hand on a Bible and swearing to uphold the Constitution is a charade, another lie, and unfortunately meaningless for the future President and tragic for our country.

Why do this? Why pretend?

Plans to round up immigrants, undocumented, documented, even born here, have been in the works for weeks. Who knows what will actually happen, but given the mood of many in the country, and the determination of the incoming administration, the Statue of Liberty seems to be, right now, in the wrong place.

This is part of the inscription at the statue’s base:

Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

This compassionate welcome offering hope doesn’t seem to describe our country right now. Perhaps we need to return the statue to France, or at the very least, cover her with a shroud.

Finally, invading and annexing allies and friendly countries was never a campaign topic. The President-Elect is now talking, seriously, about annexing or using economic warfare to subdue our neighbor, Canada, and also invading and taking over Greenland and Panama. Isn’t this what Putin and Russia are doing, with Ukraine and other Eastern European countries? After Canada and Greenland, who would be next? Shall we begin WW3 and send husbands, wives, sons, daughters, sisters and brothers to war for this purpose?

Instead of cultivating strong friendships and alliances, we are now going to militarily subdue former allies. This is because the President-Elect knows only how to bully, intimidate, and use force to get what he wants. (and this is what he want, not what is good for the country.)

This is beyond irrational — it’s destructive and dangerous on a whole new level. Even just talking about this kind of action destroys the trust long-time friends and allies have had for the United States.

Coronation Day will soon be here. We will soon be finding out the consequences, intended and unintended, of the November election as a would-be authoritarian takes office.

What vision of America will we be pursuing, or defending?

Martha Heidi Willis

Salisbury