Today’s a new beginning
Today at noon, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris take their respective oaths of of fice to become the nation’s next president and vice president.
Many Americans will surely breathe some collective sigh of relief. The last two months and especially the last two weeks have been the chaotic crescendo of a tumultuous presidency leaving in its wake — and this is a truly abbreviated list — Washington, D.C., in militar y lockdown with roadblocks and barricades and as many as 25,000 National Guard keeping order; the staggering death toll of the COVID-19 pandemic now projected to take a half-million U.S. lives by midFebruary as the too-slow vaccine distribution program staggers on; and, perhaps most importantly, a strong sense that U.S. democracy, if not outright broken, has been dealt a serious blow by one selfish man who could not accept defeat.
“My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over.” Those were the words Gerald Ford used at his inauguration when he succeeded Richard Nixon, who resigned from office in
1974. Nearly 47 years later, the nightmare is demonstrably worse.
President Ford inherited a nation still reeling from the Watergate scandal and disgraced Vice President Spiro Agnew, but without a storming of the U.S. Senate chambers, a legacy of constant misrepresentation and scheming, a historic pandemic and a level of political polarization unmatched in the modern era.
Under different circumstances, the countr y’s desire for a replacement in the Oval Of fice would seem a political advantage. But, alas, the well of political opinion seems too poisoned for that. Biden has promised to make changes, not just in policy but in perspective.
Of course, the day will be filled with outreach and gesture, with calls for unification, turning over a new leaf, rounding a corner. The Biden agenda is surely ambitious, featuring a stronger economic stimulus, renewed attention to climate change, a push for greater equality and fairness, a return to international coalition building to address global problems and a repeal of tax cuts for the rich. But he has also wisely spoken of making the COVID-19 pandemic the center of his administration’s initial focus.
Most Americans probably don’t care all that much about inaugural balls or the other ceremonial trappings of Inauguration Day. Their absence won’t make much difference. What many would truly, greatly, deeply appreciate is some return to normalcy, to rational behavior, to less shouting and more respectful conversation. And no white supremacists dressed in militar y gear and toting guns attacking D.C. or any state capital.
Decency is what Biden and Harris promised, and it’s likely what Americans would appreciate most right now, Harris’ historic achievement as the first woman to hold her post notwithstanding. And, of course, a quicker, safer end to the pandemic.