Beech Tree News Network

Yesterday’s presidential election was the “58th quadrennial U.S. presidential election” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_2016). I have a friend who jokes that she votes so she’ll have the right to complain. But generally, I believe we vote out of a sense of responsibility and to help select our leader.

President-elect Donald Trump, soon to be the nation’s 45th president, will be sworn in on Inauguration Day, Friday, January 20, 2017. This ceremony will take place on the steps of the U.S. Capitol at noon when the term of President Barack Obama expires. President Obama will technically be the president right up until noon on January 20, according to provisions in the U.S. Constitution's 20th Amendment. Therefore, our country will have one president that morning and a different one that afternoon (http://uspolitics.about.com/od/presidenc1/tp/Presidential-Inauguration-D...).

The office of the President of the United States commands a degree of respect. The words of past Presidents have been quoted and pondered. A few interesting presidential quotes spanning the past 200 years are listed below (https://www.entrepreneur.com/slideshow/225769):
•    In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. –Thomas Jefferson (time in office: 1801-1809)
•    If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader. –John Quincy Adams (time in office:1825-1829)
•    I walk slowly, but I never walk backward. –Abraham Lincoln (time in office: 1861-1865)
•    Believe you can and you’re halfway there. –Theodore Roosevelt (time in office: 1901-1909)
•    If you treat people right, they will treat you right … ninety percent of the time. –Franklin D. Roosevelt (time in office: 1933-1945)
•    It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit. –Harry S. Truman (time in office: 1945-1953)
•    Accomplishment will prove to be a journey, not a destination. –Dwight D. Eisenhower (time in office:1953-1961)
•    Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth. –John F. Kennedy (time in office: 1961-1963)
•    Tell the truth, work hard, and come to dinner on time. –Gerald R. Ford (time in office:1974-1977)
•    If you’re walking down the right path and you’re willing to keep walking, eventually you’ll make progress. –Barack Obama (time in office: 2009-present)

Based on news reports, I understand that Butler County supported Donald Trump, Kentucky supported Donald Trump, and of course, the national popular vote went to Donald Trump. This election was a hard fought battle. Until very recently, I – like many others – was undecided about how I’d mark my ballot. Yet, today I’m happy to see the end of the campaign signs and advertisements, and I hope the division created by the election process is soon repaired.

Abraham Lincoln once said, “My dream is of a place and a time where America will once again be seen as the last best hope of earth” (http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_patriotism.html). Being the “best hope of earth” requires the dedication of resources and wise leadership. Consequently, may God bless the United States of America and President-elect Trump.