Joe Biden opened his inauguration speech declaring, “Today we celebrate the triumph, not of a candidate, but a cause, the cause of democracy.” This simple comment made clear a major distinction between Biden and the former president which is for Trump being president was all about self-aggrandizing and for Biden being president is about the country.
It is obvious the traits Biden possesses that Donald Trump lacks; honesty, patriotism, compassion, and competence. In his speech, Biden recounted Abraham Lincoln’s words when signing the Emancipation Proclamation; “If my name ever goes down in history, it will be for this act; my whole soul is in it.” Biden went on to say, ” Today, on this day in January, my whole soul is in this; “Bringing America together.” A major theme of the President’s speech was unity amongst all Americans. He called for more civil discourse, disagreement without destruction and to meet the challenge to ” hear, see, and listen to one another.” He called for the rules of engagement between the two parties and all Americans of different colors, religions, and gender to be civil as they struggle to reconcile their differences.
With Biden, we will no longer be subjected to a president who:
- Tweets political threats, personal attacks, and disinformation
- Wastes taxpayer dollars spending excessive time golfing and watching television
- Constantly spread lies and conspiracy theories about the opposing party
- Appears on television constantly, lying and bragging about himself
- Governs exclusively to one party to retain political power
- Breaks norms and laws for personal gain
To gain perspective on how drastically the former president perverted the dignity of the presidency, imagine President Joe Biden tweeting derogatory remarks about women in Congress, or rallying his supporters to harass members of the opposing party or their supporters. Imagine Joe Biden agreeing with Vladimir Putin over the U.S. intelligence community. The country can rest assured, none of those abhorrent behaviors will happen because the new president is not a narcissist, is not vulnerable to fringe conspiracy-theory thinking, is compassionate, respects women, is mature and respects and understands the Constitution.
Other major themes in Biden’s inaugural speech furthered his sense of urgency for healing the divisions that Trump created. He cited political extremism as an impediment to uniting all Americans in the fight to beat COVID, eradicate white supremacy, heal the planet, and win the battle against racial injustice. Without directly referencing Trump, he made it clear that restoring the soul of America involves convincing those who did not vote for him that he will equally govern the country with the interests and needs of all Americans in mind.
The installation of Kamala Harris as Vice-President was an emotional, long overdue milestone for the United States to achieve. She brings extensive experience to the job as well as symbolizes the emerging progress in breaking the dominance of white male power and influence in American politics. The inauguration of Biden/ Harris represents a return to political civility, professional competence, and respect for the rule of law. The Senate has the opportunity to save the country from future damage by Donald Trump by convicting him at his trial for inciting the insurgency against our democracy. If they fail to do so, the GOP may not survive, and neither will democracy.
