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Sharp divisions over Donald Trump’s election as US president have sparked uncertainty about who will participate at his inauguration.
Politicians, celebrities and even secondary school students are debating whether taking part in the inauguration is a political act that demonstrates support for the new president and his agenda or a non-partisan tribute to democratic traditions and the peaceful transfer of power.
Among critics of the president-elect, everyone from Hillary Clinton and Hollywood A-listers to the band director at tiny Madawaska Middle/High School in northern Maine is wrestling with the issue — and reaching different conclusions.
Bill and Hillary Clinton served belated notice this past week that they will be on the inaugural podium when Mr Trump takes the oath of office on January 20th.
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At least two legislators have said they will boycott the ceremony.
In Utah, singer Jan Chamberlin was so dismayed by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's decision to perform at the swearing-in that she decided not only to sit out the event but to resign from the choir she dearly loves.
“The president-elect does not represent anything that reflects my moral views,” said Ms Chamberlin, who voted for independent Evan McMullin.
She said she is concerned that participation in the inauguration will tarnish the choir by creating a false impression that the church supports Mr Trump.
A fellow choir member, Cristi Brazao, who also did not support Mr Trump, posted on her Facebook page that she will be singing at the inauguration because "my mission as a singer has always been to soften hearts, to bridge gaps, to make connections and also to make friends".
‘Music transcends politics’
Similar debates have played out among the dancers of the Radio City Rockettes and members of the marching band of historically black Talladega College in Alabama after inaugural planners announced that the groups would be performing.
For Ben Meiklejohn, director of the 30-student Pride of Madawaska Marching Band, performing for an inaugural concert at the Lincoln Memorial will give his teenage musicians the experience of a lifetime and has nothing to do with politics.
“I’ve always thought that music transcends politics, that music can get beyond the barriers that divide people,” said Mr Meiklejohn, who voted for the Green Party’s Jill Stein.
Hollywood
Apparently that is not the case in left-leaning Hollywood, where publicist Howard Bragman said most entertainers see “no separation between Trump the man” and his inauguration, and want nothing to do with him.
Mr Trump denies he is facing any shortage of top talent.
“The so-called ”A” list celebrities are all wanting tixs to the inauguration, but look what they did for Hillary, NOTHING. I want the PEOPLE!“ the president-elect tweeted last month.
Participation in an inaugural is always a personal decision, and no doubt people have opted to sit out past inaugurations due to differences with the president-elect.
But historians and others say this year’s public angst over whether to be associated with the inauguration is unusual.
Inaugural historian Jim Bendat points to bipartisan participation in past inaugurals.
Singer Ethel Merman, a prominent Republican, sang at Democrat John F Kennedy’s inaugural gala in 1961.
Contralto Marian Anderson sang at the second inaugural of Republican Dwight Eisenhower and at Kennedy’s inauguration.
“It’s really hard to look at this inauguration the same way that we have looked at all others,” says Mr Bendat, author of the inaugural history book Democracy’s Big Day.
Many performers "don't see Donald Trump as the type of person that they want to identify with because of the way that he campaigned for more than a year".
Clintons
Robert Reich, a former Bill Clinton administration official, thinks politicians should feel the same way.
After the Clintons said they would attend the inauguration, Mr Reich tweeted that “by attending Trump’s inauguration, they’re normalising it — as if Trump were just another president”.
“The underlying issue here isn’t the normal and noble desire to overcome partisanship and promote a peaceful transition of power,” Mr Reich added.
“It’s that Donald Trump became president by lying, demeaning women, denigrating racial and ethnic minorities, denying intelligence reports of foreign intervention in our election, excusing violence against opponents, and undermining the freedom and independence of the press.”
AP