Friday was not what you’d call a day of great indecision. You know how you felt. I know how I felt. On one of the odder Inauguration Days in U.S. history, indecision didn’t seem like an option.
So I thought it would be interesting to see it through the eyes of younger Americans, folks not yet burdened with years of political cynicism. I went to the National Mall with 15 kids (and their chaperones) from Hernandez Middle School in Round Rock who made the trip to D.C. to see history.
Turns out some of the middle schoolers are just as opinionated as the rest of us.
When school librarian Wendy Tucker, the brave shepherd of this trip, concocted the idea last year she had no way of knowing this routine transfer of power would be anything but routine. The idea was to see history, or as Desiree Le, the school’s International Baccalaureate coordinator, put it, “to see the Constitution in action on Inauguration Day.”
By way of background, Hillary Clinton carried 80 percent of the Hernandez Middle School mock election vote. Eighth-grader Emma Stanley was a Clinton voter. And she likes Barack Obama better than Donald Trump.
“I think one is a little more enjoyable to listen to and to talk to,” she said. “And I think they have very different beliefs.”
And Emma is fully on board with the right to protest. “It’s not a bad thing,” she said, adding she would be “hypocritical” if she didn’t think folks who disagree with her should be allowed to protest. The kids had been cautioned that they might see passionate protest in action on the streets of the nation’s capital.
En route back to their bus — and a kids inaugural ball hosted by the tour company that organized the trip — the Hernandez students walked past two protests, according to Tucker.
“But we didn’t get caught up in anything,” she said.
Ximena Gamboa is the kind of eighth grader who uses an umbrella as a make-believe microphone to interview fellow students. I know this because I saw her do it. Repeatedly. From watching the news and debates, she’s decided she does not like Trump.
“He’s racist, ignorant,” she said.
Getting through security and on to the National Mall, where the unticketed gathered, was surprisingly easy. Tucker picked out a spot near one of the huge monitors and spread out a plastic tarp for the kids to sit on. Tucker was equipped with everything including snack bags and ponchos. She’s the kind of educator who’d do anything for her kids. Well, almost anything.
“I’m not digging out your cell phone,” she said as she gave the kids tips on how to prevent a phone from falling into a portable toilet.
Not long after that, Ximena broke out her umbrella/microphone and interviewed Layla Keever, a small bundle of energy and running commentary.
“Layla, are you excited to be here today?” Ximena inquired.
“Yes and no,” said Layla, a potential future politician.
“What do you mean yes and no?” Ximena asked.
“Yes, to see the inauguration,” Layla said, “but not for Donald Trump.”
Speaking into the umbrella, she added that under Trump it’s “going to be a lot harder for people to get over the border to get their green card.”
I opted against an extended, on-the-spot discussion of immigration policy.
Ximena took on a wistful look as she glanced at the big screen and saw Trump.
“I’m excited,” she said. “I’m just not excited for him being president.”
Things will be OK, I assured her by way of also assuring myself.
“I guess,” Ximena said. “God Bless America.”
She was texting as Trump took the oath and looked up to the screen at the “preserve, protect and defend” portion. When the band played “Ruffles and Flourishes” for the new president, Ximena turned to her friend and shook her head no.
As “Hail to the Chief” began, I asked her what she thought.
“I think we’re dead,” she said. “We’re all screwed. We’re all going too die and America is sinking like the Titanic right now.”
Layla concurred, “America is ruined. Ruined.”
Nearby, Jen Smalley and her eighth-grade daughter Kallie huddled under an umbrella and stared intently at the big screen. Jen Smalley told me she is a Republican and voted for Trump in the primary and general election.
I didn’t. But, as opposed to the gloom and doom I heard from the kids, I’m moving forward with Smalley’s one-word attitude about what’s ahead for our country.
“Hopeful,” she said.
About the Author
