By Ashfaque Swapan
January 23,
2021
America's
quadrennial celebration of peaceful transition of power is one of its more
hallowed traditions.
Joe
Biden is sworn in as the 46th president of the United States by Chief Justice
John Roberts as Jill Biden holds the Bible during the 59th Presidential
Inauguration at the US Capitol, in Washington, US, January 20, 2021. Photo:
Reuters
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Having said
that, I've never been a great fan of US presidential inaugurations. Like
American party conventions, there is a slick, confected feel to it, awash as it
is in platitudes and hyperbole that come across as overwrought.
However, at
critical moments of crisis, a presidential inauguration can take on historic
significance.
In 1933,
Franklin D Roosevelt reassured a nation reeling from the Great Depression that
"the only thing we have to fear is fear itself."
In 1977,
Jimmy Carter, an unassuming peanut farmer from Georgia, reassured a nation
shaken by the political scandals of disgraced President Richard Nixon with his
quintessential American decency.
The
inauguration of President Joseph R Biden and Vice President Kamala D Harris on
January 20 is another such inauguration.
A global
pandemic has turned the world upside down, and the US, one of the worst
affected nations, has paid a heartbreaking price with over 400,000 deaths from
Covid-19. On January 6, lawmakers hid under desks as the US Capitol was overrun
by thugs egged on by the sitting president. The last time the US Congress was
attacked was by the British in 1814.
And what of
outgoing President Donald J Trump? Attempting to list even a few of his
transgressions is as futile as trying to drink from a fire hydrant. Suffice it
to say that among his many, many egregious breaches of all norms of decency, he
chose to sneak out of the capital, earning the dubious distinction of becoming
the first US president in 150 years not to attend his successor's inauguration.
I'm sure
I'm not the first person to wonder what it is about the new president that
helped him achieve the remarkable feat of defeating Trump, who won more votes
in a presidential election than any previous candidate, by a whopping seven
million votes.
Biden's
appeal has never been about just who he is. It's been more about who he
represents and what he is against.
It's hard
to recall a time when governing styles and values in the federal government
have been in greater contrast than a future Biden administration and the
outgoing Trump administration.
Trump was all
about riling up his supporters, off-the-cuff tweets, seat-of-the-pants
governance, a callous disregard for science and policy, the fanning of flames
for a fevered yearning for a lost past of racial dominance.
Biden, on
the other hand, represents an America that looks much more like its future.
More importantly, his campaign always seemed to me to be a communal project of
Obama-era wicked-smart experts and volunteers. Sure, Biden is the face of it,
but once he clinched the nomination, from his campaign to the announcement of
the members of his administration, all his steps give the impression that the
entire effort is powered by a well-oiled machine eerily reminiscent of the
quiet competence of the no-drama Obama era. Am I the only one to be amazed that
Joe Biden, whose penchant for gaffes was regarded with affectionate indulgence,
has not made a single misstep throughout this extraordinarily demanding
campaign and transition?
The
inauguration ceremony, along with the heartwarming celebrations later, had the
hallmarks of the Obama administration. Biden's special sauce is his genuine
warmth and humanity.
In one of
the stranger ironies in recent times, some of the credit for Biden's appeal
must go to Trump. Trump's awful conduct had resulted in such a wacky, scary,
dystopian reality that Biden's decency, humanity, kindness, honesty—in ordinary
circumstances unremarkable, even pedestrian traits—seem so utterly appealing.
It all came
together in the inauguration ceremony and the later festivities. Credit is also
due to Republican Party lawmakers—including ferocious partisans like US
Senators Mitch McConnell, Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley, Rep. Kevin McCarthy and
outgoing Vice President Mike Pence. It is a tribute to the Republican Party
that the institutional integrity of US democracy survived the onslaught of
Trump and his enablers.
Thanks to
the mess left by Trump, the next four years are not going to be a cakewalk for
the Biden administration. However, the incoming administration's successful
management of Covid-19 vaccination will make its path easier. The early signs
are promising.
"Biden's
team members intend to use the Federal Emergency Management Agency to set up
thousands of vaccination sites in gyms, sports stadiums and community
center," Ezra Klein wrote in The New York Times. " They want to
mobilise the National Guard to. . . ensure that strapped states don't have to
bear the cost. . . They want to launch a massive public education blitz, aimed
at communities sceptical of the vaccine."
Going back
to the inauguration, the most stirring moment for me was the performance of one
of America's most popular folk songs, made famous by Woody Guthrie:
"This
land is your land, this land is my land/From California to the New York
Island/From the Redwood Forest to the Gulf Stream waters/This land was made for
you and me."
The words
resonated with particular power because they were uttered by a performer of
Puerto Rican descent and had the full endorsement of the president of the
United States of America.
I am an
ageing first-generation immigrant whose faith in his adopted country was shaken
by vicious expressions of xenophobia in the last few years, also endorsed by
the (then) US president.
I was close
to tears as I heard Jennifer Lopez sing those beautiful words. I really felt,
once more, that this wondrous land, America, is my home as well.
Thank you,
President Biden and Vice President Harris. Thank you, America.
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Ashfaque Swapan, an Atlanta-based writer and
editor, is contributing editor for Siliconeer, an online South Asian
publication.
Original Headline: Biden’s balm of normalcy
soothes US
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