A frightening contrast in presidents

As I write this, we have lost one of the most intelligent, thoughtful, ethical, and peaceful presidents we have ever had; instead, in one instant, we will be suffering from a vicious, ignorant, narcissistic war-mongering buffoon. The contrast is so enormous that many of us cannot possibly comprehend it. It happened because enough people never recovered from their hatred of a president who was black and feared to follow that with someone hated just as much, if not more, an educated, experienced, and able woman. This woman, although winning the popular vote by almost 3,000,000, cannot serve because she lost the electoral vote, an anachronistic and unfair system.

For most of my life, I have observed that progress here is usually made with two steps forward and one step backward, resulting in slow but constant improvement. However, this is such a huge step backward that I fear for the country physically, economically, emotionally and morally. I have survived some hapless presidents with whom I disagreed, but even they were, for the most part, decent sane people who thought they had the good of the country at heart.

A country that could elect such a disaster as Trump is no longer mine. In my fantastical dreams, I now live in a country composed of California, western Washington and western Oregon that is accepting and far-sighted. Perhaps I will name it the Pacific States of America or just Pacifica, appropriate in several ways.

This story was originally published January 31, 2017 at 6:21 PM with the headline "A frightening contrast in presidents."