I find it sad to see in our great nation those who would take umbrage to the inauguration of our President of the United States of America.

Inauguration Day is not about the President and not about Mr. Trump per se.

Inauguration Day is a celebration of our greatest freedom.

On Inauguration Day, we celebrate the fruits of our freedom to vote in a free society.

It is a celebration of the peaceful turn over of power. It is a celebration of a government of the people, for the people and by the people.

Inauguration Day captures the attention of the entire world, for there are few free nations in this world where the torch of governmental power is passed without military coups, assassinations, imprisonment and bloodshed.

It is a reminder of our most sovereign rights as Americans.

Abraham Lincoln said in his second inaugural address: “with malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan — to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves, and with all nations.”

We need all to remember those wise, war-torn words, for they are as true today as they were on that cold day, rainy day in March of 1865.

To those offended by our inaugural day, to those who would teach and encourage their children to dismiss, and scoff at this most important tradition of our free nation, I say, shame.

This day is not about you and your political bias; it is ours, a day to celebrate the very freedoms that allow you to behave in such a small, selfish, unpatriotic manner.

Celebrate and rejoice in our riches.

Althea L. Morgan
Edgartown