SACKVILLE, N.B. – R.A. Lautenschlager is an optimist by nature. So he continues to hold out hope that Donald Trump’s presidency will be short lived.
The Sackville singer and songwriter says he has been growing increasingly concerned over the US president’s demeaning and intimidating behavior since Trump was elected a year ago.
“I’m actually disturbed by him, as I think so many people are,” said Lautenschlager.
So he decided to do what he always does when he is troubled over something – put pen to paper and start writing.
What he came up with was a song that he hopes will serve as a bit of an inspiration as the world tries to wade through the craziness that is the Trump administration. We Shall Overcome – Trump speaks to the concerns of millions when Lautenschlager writes about how they just wish Trump would ‘quickly go away’.
“Through time, I think the hypocrisy and the lies are going to catch up with him. And the hope is that, that day is sooner rather than later,” says Lautenschlager.
If that day does come, when or if Trump is removed from office, Lautenschlager says hopefully his presidency would go down as “that little blip of an annoyance” in the grander scheme of things.
“The song talks about how ‘we shall overcome’ . . . and I think we will,” he says. “I’m an optimist so I certainly believe that’ll happen.”
Lautenschlager’s song is a bit of a take on the We Shall Overcome protest song that became a key anthem of the civil rights movement in the 1960s.
It also follows up on Lautenschlager’s previous two songs about Trump and his successful run towards the US presidency. Written in the fall of 2016, Trump and Trump Lies express Lautenschlager’s dismay at the fact that Trump could seemingly say anything and tell lie after lie that didn’t seem to bother any of his supporters.
Lautenschlager says he usually doesn’t venture into politics too often but Trump has been such a polarizing figure he just can’t seem to stop himself from writing about him.
As he pens in his song, ‘He’s a racist, misogynist, and bigot. A hypocrite and bully, they say. Oh, oh, deep in their hearts, millions pray today; he will quickly go away.’
“He’s all of those things and I think most everyone would agree with that, even his supporters . . . he’s so offensive in so many ways,” he says.
He hopes that after this experience with Trump, both Republicans and Democrats will, in the near future, take a closer look at the laws around what governing politicians should or shouldn’t say, particularly relating to derogatory or offensive comments.
