The best thing about the president’s inauguration speech is that it was classic Joe Biden.
Plainspoken. Upbeat. And full of heart.
Yes, we face challenges. But we can not let them be our undoing.
Amid rampant civil unrest, Wednesday’s outdoor ceremony proved our new president will not be bowed by threats to democracy.
How so?
Because we’ve been here before.
“Through civil war, the Great Depression, world war, 9/11, through struggle, sacrifice and setbacks, our better angels have always prevailed,” Biden said.
Like every good coach, Biden appealed to us to work as a team.
“Now we’re going to be tested. Are we going to step up? All of us? It’s time for boldness, for there is so much we can do together.”
The visuals from the inauguration showed us how it’s done.
To a one, those in the crowd wore face masks in deference to the devastating COVID-19 pandemic that has already killed more than 400,000 Americans, as many as those taken in World War II, and the conflicts in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Biden also appealed to us to place our confidence in God.
Mid-speech, he asked that we bow our heads in prayer to remember those lost to the pandemic, saying, “We will honor them by becoming the people and the nation we know we can and should be. So I ask you, let’s say a silent prayer for those who’ve lost their lives, those left behind, and for our country.”
As for how civil discourse has all but been reduced to catch-phrase attacks, “witch hunt,” “stop the steal,” “Fake news,” Biden ordered us to clean it up.
“Hear one another, see one another, show respect to one another. Politics doesn’t have to be a raging fire, destroying everything in its path. Every disagreement doesn’t have to be a cause for total war. And we must reject the culture in which facts themselves are manipulated and even manufactured.”
And though he may be the oldest president we’ve ever had, Biden always has his eyes on the future.
“Here we stand, where 108 years ago, at another inaugural, thousands of protesters tried to block brave women marching for the right to vote. And today we marked the swearing-in of the first woman in American history elected to national office: Vice President Kamala Harris.”
“Don’t tell me things can’t change.”
THE DAY was especially poignant because it occurred just two weeks to the day from when thugs and white supremacists stormed the U.S. Capitol, awakening us all to the fragility of our democracy.
