Obama library: Hope and wonder

Watching the grand opening of the Obama Presidential Center and Library gave many of us hope that our country would survive the Trump years and would get back to some form of normalcy. That the rule of law would again mean something. That the three equal branches of government would function as they were meant to. That the Department of Justice would again be independent of the president’s whims.

Watching the three former presidents interact with respect and sometimes humor was uplifting. Such a contrast with the negativity of our present president. We witnessed class, decency and empathy in our former president and first lady’s speeches. The quality of their character was front and center. They believe in our government’s peaceful transfer of power and the use of checks and balances so we govern fairly.

When Trump leaves office, will a presidential library be part of his legacy and what would it look like? He doesn’t read much, so it can’t contain books. He likes to decorate, so it might be filled with gold statues and gold bric-a-brac as seen in the Oval Office. It might contain the Air Force One Boeing 747 gifted by the government of Qatar since Trump believes it belongs to him not our government. Will it be filled with the redacted documents from the Epstein files?

Perhaps his legacy will not include a library. Trump’s war with Iran, his ICE immigration policies, unfair tariffs and inflation and prices have been a factor in his low approval rating. It will take years for us to mend fences with our allies. Maybe his millionaire/billionaire associates will pull together to build a monument to this man who lacks the decency and empathy of past presidents. Maybe they’re smart enough not to.

Only time will tell.

Judith Miller

Schaumburg