On January 20th I read something about how unfortunate it was that Martin Luther King’s Day and Trump’s inauguration fell on the same day. I see it differently.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day honors an American whose importance and legacy continues. Donald Trump’s legacy will be, in a short time, only ashes. The reason is simple. King’s accomplishments came from love. Trump’s ashes will be a result of hate.

There are numerous explanations for Trump’s electoral victory. A third of eligible voters didn’t vote at all. They abstained. Not a good sign for a democracy. Trump won with a small number of votes, although not the cliff hanger of earlier Republican victories. This uncertainty was, in part, due to inflation.

I agree with James Carville’s famous quote, “It’s the economy, stupid.” Although many signs suggest the economy is stronger now than it has been under Republican leadership, a large number of people feel insecure. Capitalism feels unstable for what the media calls “the middle class.” These voters did not analyze the failures of the capitalist system or how it is managed. Or that Roosevelt’s combination of democracy and socialism saved capitalism. As the left has said for some time, we are in the stages of “late capitalism.” Left or right, most us feel the anxiety.

But I think the deepest reason for this victory is the one most rooted in hatred which in intertwined with racism. When we were growing up we learned that the United States was founded on the idea of democracy. But what we were not told is that the original concept of American democracy extended only to white men. The US economy was built on the labor of slaves, the eradication of indigenous people, and then the labor of poorly paid immigrants in dangerous work conditions. The very White House that President Trump now occupies was built by slaves. As others have said, slavery and genocide are the “cancer in the bones of the United States” and are our “original sins.” Trump was initially elected as a backlash against two terms of a mixed-race President and then a female opponent. Trump was elected for this term when he ran against a mixed-race woman. Women and people of color were not eligible to vote when this country was founded. This is why racism and sexism are baked in our bones. Trump’s first actions in office reveal his hatred of the people who have struggled for their very right to exist and participate in democracy.

Love is what can redeem our country. This was Dr. King’s message again and again. So, when I see these two events, inauguration and Martin Luther King Day, coexisting I know that only Dr. King’s work will endure. That is hope.

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

-Martin Luther King, Jr.