And then I wrote...

by Dick Schilling, "Editor Emeritus"

... that this is being written on Martin Luther King Jr. day, and I just noticed on TV that his son, Martin Luther King III, has just wrapped up an hour-long meeting with President Elect Donald Trump.

That’s ironic because we were told this morning that a couple dozen or more Democrats, including members of the Black Caucus, are refusing to attend the presidential inauguration later this week. One of them went so far as to say he will not recognize the president-elect as president.

And it is also ironic in that King Jr. is famous for his “I have a dream” speech, in which he hoped for a day when all would be treated equally, black and white. He was assassinated before that dream could be realized, and in fact in the 30 years since his “day” was proclaimed, and in particular in the last eight years, it seems the racial divide has increased instead of closing.

It seems to me that American voters have fallen for the concept of voting for the idea of a candidate, rather than for the candidate.

President Obama campaigned on a promise of “hope and change.” All but a few minority voters hoped for change along with him, and helped elect him twice. But it seems their hopes went the way of King’s dreams, and racial distrust has been exacerbated instead.

There is considerable consensus that a good many white voters also shared that concept of hope and change, hoping that electing a mixed race president would once and for all change the racial relations climate. That has not happened, and although the president himself has not fallen out of favor with a majority of voters, many of his ideas have been pretty much rejected.

And in this past election, residents of most states outside of New York and California bought the idea that Candidate Trump offered them hope and change from situations in which they had been ignored and have not been able to improve their economic lot.

Whether President Trump will be able to make good on his promises remains to be seen.

It certainly does not help when the losers fail to recognize the winner and signify that by not accepting his inauguration.

President Obama was not treated with that measure of disdain, and despite a very brief honeymoon of sorts, lasting longer with the national media, he was not able to deliver.

It’s going to be much tougher for President Trump. Minorities and the media will most likely never rally to his cause.