“Mine is the sunlight, mine is the morning
Born of the one light, Eden saw play
Praise with elation, praise every morning
God’s recreation of the new day.”– Cat Stevens
It’s morning in America. There is nothing more exciting and refreshing than hope. We search for it everywhere and sometimes find it in tiny places that have satisfy us in the moment. Today marks a beacon of hope that you only see every four or eight years. Yet, there’s something special about this day.
Every writer, whether they be a non-fiction, poet, novelist, or hobbyist, dreams of writing words that become immortal. Most of us never get there. I can barely remember my own words much less have anyone else remember them. Yet, with each day hope springs eternal. There is nothing more immortal than the inaugural address. As of this writing, we only have to wait a few hours before Joe Biden delivers his.
Back in 1974, Gerald Ford uttered the now famous words, “our long national nightmare is over.” I was less than one when those words were uttered. Obviously, I have no idea of how people felt back in those days. I’m a student of history and my parents went through it, but it is hard to capture a feeling and pass it down to subsequent generations. We can only hope that we never have to feel this feeling ever again.
The past four years have been a daily barrage of pain for many Americans. It’s a combination of factors that have collided to create a collective PTSD throughout the country. The outgoing president had the assistance of the internet. social media, and 24 hour news. There was always something to be outraged about and we’ve become addicted to outrage like a three pack a day habit.
In many ways, Biden is in a perfect place and in many ways he is in a horrible place. On the one hand, by simply showing basic human empathy and normal emotions he soundly defeats the outgoing president. On the other hand, there are now so many things that have to be done that he has an impossible bar to clear.
Realistically, he has two years to do it. There are no guarantees that the Democrats will keep both chambers in Congress in 2022. Often changes spur anger and there will be a lot of change that needs to happen. However, like Opening Day of a baseball season, you don’t worry about how shaky your bullpen is or whether the shortstop will hit his weight. You bask in the glow of hope in another season anew.
Our long national nightmare is over. Like many of you, part of me is still nervous about the remnants of the insurrection of two weeks ago. Apparently, some in the national guard were relieved of their duties when it was determined that they belonged to right wing hate groups. Hopefully, their last round of vetting caught them all. We will be talking plenty of policy and plenty about justice in the coming days and weeks. Let’s try to enjoy the day.
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