Yesterday, America’s peaceful transfer of power was carried out. Amanda Gorman absolutely slammed, Bernie Sanders sat obstinately, Chuck Schumer checked his phone. Mike Pence was stoic, and dutiful. The world watched, from a distance. And shattered windows be damned, the Capitol Building felt as dry and boring and important as it always has.
My modus operandi is paranoid cynic, too smart for my own good. Truly this is a problem in my own wiring: I am afraid of stupid things I deem dangerous, and cynical of stupid things I deem low-art. Thus televised events tend to make me anxious, some part of me knowing something will go terribly wrong and desperately wishing it won’t. Likewise political events always feel ham-fisted, brimming with overwrought songs and the play-by-play of news anchors commentating on the exciting prospect of other people sitting down. This ruthless combination should have made the inauguration completely inedible, too much sugar and too much salt.
Nonetheless, between bouts of eye-rolling and with my finger forever hovering over ‘Skip 10 Seconds’, I did manage to get a little teary-eyed over Biden’s address. This was perhaps my sappy side showing: old men tend to hold sad stories within themselves, battle scars from their skirmish with Time. Or maybe my inner coastal elitist was overwhelmed to see old-fashioned ideals standing at America’s podium: decency, honesty, kindness. It has been a while, has it not?
Across the twenty-minute speech I could not help but notice a few choice phrases. “Patriot.” “We the People.” After two weeks of poring over hours and hours of Parler footage, it felt cunning to re-use such powerful words under less riotous circumstances. Reclaiming these protest chants was such a small gesture here; if only the president had taken more. ‘Stop the Steal’ would have been difficult, but what of ‘Our House’? Perhaps I hoped for a little too much.
It felt nice to hear words like “Unity” again. Looking back on then-president Trump’s inauguration, there was also a Unity called for. It was a solidarity of Americans, against all the immigrant criminals, and all the off-shore businesses, and yes even the coastal elites. But somehow it was still… solidarity? Yes, the word rings quiet today, and perhaps with a fool’s earnestness. Still, at least it does not ring false.
And a grave recognition of the divided country in which we live: this also was important for our President to mention. I agree that the problem is not new; indeed its weight colored the whole of Trump’s inaugural address. But the times we live in are nonetheless extraordinary. President Biden included in a list of evils like racism and nativism: demonization. More so than perhaps anytime since the Civil War, today we paint our neighbors as enemies, unreasonable and malicious. Is there a way out of this? Can there be a way?
I believe there is. And I believe President Biden hinted at it on this cold January day, on the West side of the Capitol Building. Alongside promises to defend America, to defend our democracy, and to defend the Constitution, our president made another, less grand promise: “I will always level with you.” An open conversation, a willingness to take the blame and offer solutions, an honesty. In this time of divisiveness, our president wants to be trusted by his nation, not as an unwavering expert but as a good neighbor.
This simple act, a posture of openness and sincerity, of transparency; perhaps this is what America needs. Perhaps this can heal our rifts. The greatest virtue I can hope for, in the next four years of a Biden administration, is radical transparency. And the stupid, uncynical part of me believes it will happen.
--Jingleheimer-- 