BIDEN’S UNIFYING WORDS GIVE LIGHT AND HOPE FOR NEW ERA
COMMUNION, that heartfelt communication that transcends words and speech and binds people together, is beyond most leaders. President Joe Biden achieved it in his inaugural address, at a time when the world never needed it more.
After all the heat and misguided hate, he struck a balance of harmony and strength.
With craft and care, he found coherence amid the polarisation: embracing the big and small, weak and strong.
In being meek and humble, he was powerful. His resilience and refusal to go low gives grounds for optimism that the greatest experiment in democracy is in the safest of safe hands.
To see Vice-President Kamala Harris making history by his side restores hope and belief that discrimination and alienation are about to be put on the back foot.
Donald Trump may never have conceded the election, but by the time President Biden had left the plinth he was already yesterday’s man.
This was a day of celebration in diversity. And for Mr Biden, it was third time lucky.
A life of loss and crippling tragedy has tempered him for the job of tackling a daunting challenge, and difficult opponents. The pandemic and loss of 400,000 American lives, and millions of jobs, determined inauguration crowds would be sparse.
Some 200,000 small flags stood in place of citizens. But over all of them, an invisible red flag of warning also hung in the air.
Yes, Mr Biden has hit the reset button for a better, fairer, more unified America.
As the new president said: “Disagreement must not mean disunion.”
But it makes no sense to ignore the fact there are many who would still hope to profit by widening division, and provoking dissent.
The relationship Mr Biden has with senior Republican Mitch McConnell will be extremely important if the acrimony and bitterness that characterised the past four years are to be set aside.
Mr Biden, only the second Catholic president, began his day by attending a morning mass at St Matthew’s Church.
St Matthew, who is the patron saint of civil servants, was also a tax collector.
But far more pertinently, he was the apostle who appealed to his followers to: “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you.” The 46th president acknowledged the eyes of the globe are fixed on what happens next.
Opponents of democracy would wish to see him falter. He has promised to tell a story of hope, decency and dignity.
He has pledged to meet the moment.
Two weeks ago, a rabble intent on bringing darkness to the heart of the Capitol reminded us that vigilance is the price of freedom.
His binding commitment, “Truth and justice will not die on our watch,” was greeted by billions around our plague-weary planet with relief.
If the healing is to begin, it has been given a good start with a day of light and revival for a new era.
‘Disagreement must not mean disunion’