I have been waiting with bated breath for this moment, January 20, the inauguration of our new president and the peaceful transfer of power. Since the election, I had this sinking feeling that it wasn't going to happen, especially after the capitol riot and insurgency. I was so afraid that something would prevent Biden from taking over the Presidency and keep Trump in office defiantly against the will of the people, effectively turning our country into a dictatorship. So it absolutely delights me to see (finally) Republicans and Democrats acting with civility and decorum, allowing for the peaceful transfer of power, and swearing in Biden as President (and Harris as VP).
I watched a live stream of the inauguration via the New York Times online. It was a pure live stream, which I MOST appreciated-- no commentary, no interruptions, no political pundits, no commercials. I wanted to see and to experience everything that was actually happening with my own eyes. I didn't need someone to be talking over all of it with their opinions. They had some text commentary in a chat box next to the live stream, which I did read from time to time, but only when I chose to, so it was not distracting from my pure experience of the event. Most importantly, I was able to hear the beautiful music of the United States Marine Band. Instead of footage being cut to a pundit during the music, which so often happens, I could listen to the trombones and trumpets and clarinets (and I even spotted a bass clarinet!)
The whole ceremony felt lighter without Trump, and of higher class (ironic because Trump is so desirous of things that are "high class". But for him I think that just means money. When I say high class, I mean civility, decorum, morality, ethics, and intelligence.) It was DELIGHTFUL not to hear Trump's name during the entire ceremony. Not ONCE! Because he wasn't in attendance, he was not honored, greeted, or even thanked. WOOT!
Here are some specifically delightful moments:
I started watching as the special guests made their way down the quite precarious staircase (Kamala tripped on the last step!) and into their special seating. Most couples were holding hands or linking arms (Barack and Michelle Obama, George and Laura Bush, Joe and Jill Biden, etc) with the delightfully glaring exception of Bill and Hillary Clinton (it is obvious to me that they don't really like each other very much, at least not nearly as much as Barack and Michelle obviously love (and actually like!) each other.
Each new entrance was accompanied by applause, and I think Kamala got more applause and "whoops" than anyone else, including Biden! I got chills after she made her entrance. She is the first woman, first Black person, and first Asian person to be elected Vice President. It was definitely a momentous occasion.
There was a light sprinkling of snow during the beginning of the ceremony, which was quite beautiful, and allowed for a delightful joke by Senator Roy Blunt about Senator Amy Klobuchar being from cold and snowy Minnesota.
In Amy Klobuchar's introduction, she said "Madam" Vice President Elect-- emphasis on MADAM! and “Have we become too jaded, too accustomed to the ritual of the passing of the torch of democracy to truly appreciate what a blessing and a privilege it is to witness this moment? I think not.”
Rev. Father Leo O'Donovan, during the opening prayer, called God the "Holy mystery of love" which is exactly the kind of verbiage I try to employ while leading prayers. I actively avoid using words like Father or Lord, and instead use more universal language to define and to name God.
In the chat box commentary after Kamala was sworn in:
- Helene Cooper (Pentagon Correspondent) wrote: "So, we have a woman vice president."
- Jim Tankersley (Economics and Tax Reporter) wrote: "A Black woman VP. 232 years after our first vice president."
- Jonathan Martin (National Political Correspondent) wrote, "And 101 years after women won the franchise."
- Carl Hulse (Chief Washington correspondent) wrote: "Well, that’s big!"
Jennifer Lopez sang a beautiful rendition of This Land is Your Land, which according to Reid J. Epstein (National Politics Reporter) in the chat box is a Woody Guthrie tune written as a socialist anthem that was a staple of Bernie Sanders rallies. I don't think I knew that it was intended to be socialist, but I like now knowing that fact. Also, J Lo spoke in Spanish in the middle of the song (she said a line from the Pledge of Allegiance: "Una nacion, bajo Dios, indivisible, con libertad y justicia para todos" which translates to "One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all" which prompted Helene Cooper (Pentagon Correspondent) to comment in the chat: "Yesterday Mike Pompeo said that multiculturalism 'is not who we are.' This ceremony would suggest otherwise."
A bunch of delightful moments in Biden's speech:
- He spoke of the many challenges we now face, including the pandemic, joblessness, and a cry for racial justice. It turns out he went off script to add this little snippet that I wrote down after he said it: "a cry for survival comes from the planet itself", which was very moving.
- Then back on script: "a cry that can’t be any more desperate or any more clear, and now arise political extremism, white supremacy, domestic terrorism that we must confront and we will defeat." Immediately I thought...oooh strong words. At the same time, Reid J. Epstein (National Politics Reporter) commented: "Not sure that any president has called for defeating white supremacism in an inaugural address before."
- Biden: “The dream of justice for all will be deferred no longer.”
- Biden spoke a lot about "unity". My husband and I (as well as many journalists) have commented that his constant professing of unity seems empty and unrealistic. But what delighted me in this speech is that he admitted, honestly, "I know speaking of unity can sound to some like a foolish fantasy."
- He admits that the forces that divide us are deep and real, but they are not new. "Our history has been a constant struggle between the American ideal that we are all created equal and the harsh, ugly reality that racism, nativism, fear and demonization have long torn us apart." The solution? "We can see each other not as adversaries but as neighbors. We can treat each other with dignity and respect. We can join forces, stop the shouting and lower the temperature. Without unity, there is no peace. Only bitterness and fury." That bit about stopping the shouting and lowering the temperature really spoke to me as one of the main differences already apparent between Trump's Presidency and Biden's. It was so delightful not to be SHOUTED at! He goes on: "Politics need not be a raging fire destroying everything in its path. Every disagreement doesn’t have to be a cause for total war." Amen!
- Commentators agreed with me about how powerful and meaningful these statements are. Sheryl Gay Stolberg (Congressional Correspondent) wrote: "I am reminded of Obama’s 2009 speech when he quoted Scripture saying, 'It is time to set aside childish things.'" Reid J. Epstein (National Politics Reporter): "Joe Biden isn’t saying Donald Trump’s name but this speech is very much about rejecting and overturning the politics that Trump espoused." and delightfully, Annie Karni (White House Correspondent) commented, "Pence is probably happy to hide behind a face mask while he watches a speech that is a repudiation of what he stood for, for the past four years." YES!!!
- Ok, back to Biden's speech, he then quoted St Augustine (whom he calls "a saint of my church"): "A people is defined by the common object of their love." And what does Biden name as the common objects of our love as Americans? "Opportunity, security, liberty, dignity, respect, honor, and yes, the truth." After which I said, out loud, OOOH! What an amazing repudiation of the lies that bolstered Trump's ridiculous 4 years in office. And then he goes on: “Recent weeks and months have taught us a painful lesson. There is truth and there are lies. Lies told for power and for profit-- and we have a duty and responsibility as leaders to defend the truth and defeat the lies." YES!!
- Biden tried to offer a vision of hope to the many Americans he recognizes who face the "future with fear and trepidation." As Jim Tankersley (Economics and Tax Reporter) commented, "Biden returns to kitchen table policy: 'Can I keep my health care? Can I pay my mortgage?'"
- Biden: "The answer is not to turn inward, to retreat into competing factions, distrusting those who don’t look like you do, or worship the way you do, or don’t get their news from the same sources you do. We must end this uncivil war that pits red against blue, rural versus urban, conservative versus liberal. We can do this if we open our souls instead of hardening our hearts. If we show a little tolerance and humility."
- Biden says that "sometimes we need a hand and sometimes we need to lend a hand."
- And near the end he says, "I will give my all in your service thinking not of power, but of possibilities. Not of personal interest, but of the public good." Again, a repudiation of all that Trump stood for.
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