My Fellow Americans

 

That three-word title has been the opening line from most of the important presidential speeches in my lifetime. President Franklin D Roosevelt may have been the first to use “my fellow Americans” in his Inaugural Address in 1933 (before my time). Previously, most Presidents opened their Inaugural Addresses with “fellow citizens”, “my fellow citizens”, or “my countrymen”.

The idea is that our presidents serve ALL Americans, not just those who agree with them. They were elected to office to serve not just the wealthy, they were elected to serve young and old, rich and poor, healthy and infirm. Additionally, in service to “my fellow Americans” does not exclude by race, creed, or sex.

Donald Trump, in his inaugural address, after basking in the applause awith “Thank you. Thank you very much, everybody. (more applause.) Wow. Thank you very, very much.” He went on to name his VP, the Speaker of the House, the Senate Majority leader, and presidents Clinton, Bush, Obama, Biden, and VP Harris. He then addressed “my fellow citizens.” All of which was appropriate. Then he stated, “The golden age of America begins right now.” (more applause)

As Trump is not a historian, we have a 50-50 chance he meant “the Golden Age” and not “the Gilded Age.” America’s “golden age” was the 1950s, a time of economic growth and prosperity where industry and the working class flourished. It was also a time of influx of millions of European immigrants. Contrast that with “the Gilded Age” of the late 1870s to the late 1890s which was marked by economic expansion, materialistic excesses, and political corruption. It was a period of high concentrations of wealth with income disparity that was flaunted and contentious.

Given Trump’s actions over the first several weeks, I would have to say that he is leaning toward an updated version of the Gilded Age. Railroads and factories will be replaced by high-tech in this newest edition. Income disparity will flourish at the expense of the poor and a diminishing middle class.

Trump’s reference to “fellow citizens” did not mean “my fellow Americans.” His citizens are his fellow oligarchs like Musk, Zuckerberg, and Bezos. He has his SCOTUS-issued “Get out of jail free” card and his invertebrate congress cowering in the shadows hoping for some slice of the pie being baked with the Project 2025 recipe. That recipe includes copious amounts of lard for the anointed oligarchy to keep the crust flaky. Ours will be a gilded future, a thin outer layer of precious metal for the wealthy covering the surface of what lies hidden and silenced beneath.