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‘Commonplace and miraculous’ event should never be taken for granted

At the inauguration of President Donald Trump on Friday, Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., noted during his opening remarks that what we were all about to witness — the peaceful and willing transition of power from one president to the next — was both “commonplace and miraculous.”

He pointed out that this — the 58th presidential inauguration and the 44th time the power of the executive branch has been transferred without resistance — may be a regular occurance in America, but rare in many parts of the world.

We realize that a lot of folks are not thrilled at the prospect of Donald Trump being president for the next four years.

But we ask everyone, as Americans, to appreciate what we all saw Friday as Trump took the oath of office with outgoing President Barack Obama, his defeated opponent Hillary Clinton and all but one of the living former presidents standing mere feet away watching and listening, but not disrupting.

That moment — where leaders from both sides of the political aisle come together to celebrate our democracy — is truly what makes America great.

We are thankful that such a display is commonplace in our nation. We are also appreciative that anything similar would be miraculous in many places on earth.

May we never take it for granted.

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