There has been an eruption in America. It is a phenomenon I have not felt in my seven decades of life. There is a feeling that was missing certainly since Ronald Reagan’s second election landslide that spoke to a confidence that our values and beliefs had been restored. A visceral feeling of love for this nation that we so desperately have wanted to celebrate again.
Yes, this sounds like the ravings of a love-struck teenager, and you wouldn’t be wrong to chuckle a bit and think this guy has lost it. And you would be right. The wave of joy the inauguration unleashed was a complete surprise to me.
I began watching the proceedings late Monday morning just to convince myself it really was the day of emancipation from the hoax that was the Joe Biden presidency. I saw former presidents, the entire SCOTUS, including retired Justice Stephen Breyer, and the stunning first lady holding the Bible as Donald Trump uttered the oath of office, completing the greatest political turnaround in American history.
But it was much more than his victory. It was our victory. The Capitol was on its feet cheering the return to sanity and common sense. It cheered on the unmistakable sense of optimism for the return to common values and American exceptionalism.
Of course, there are those who are stunned by this response to a man they detest and have tried to destroy since 2016. Their fear of Donald Trump is understandable. He has defeated every attempt at blocking his return to power. They have and still are trying to paint the affection for him as some kind of fascist national hallucination.
They were wrong to underestimate him. Now he is a genuine American success story the likes of which history will never forget. I am getting out over my skis here, but it is a joy that has been absent for too long.
Now, let’s make America great again.
To my Democrat friends, I hope you will own the miscalculations you made these past years sowing division and acrimony. Advocate for the liberal traditions and values we on the right need to be reminded of. Leave behind the pursuit of power for its own self-interest.
America is ready for a reboot, a great leap forward, and we all should get on board.
Ed Surgan
Westhampton
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