January 20, 2021
On a sunny day in Washington at 12:01 p m. Joseph R. Biden officially became President of the United States. It was a beautiful day. The overall mood was somber and serious but also joyous. A great moment occurred when Kamala Harris was sworn in as Vice President—the first woman, the first black and Asian to hold the office.
The theme of the day, set by President Biden himself, was unity. Father Donovan, former president of Georgetown University, emphasized that American patriotism was based on the words from President Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, “with malice toward none, and charity for all.” President Biden in his inaugural speech said that together we can do anything; we must have unity. Also we must put away lies. The truth must always be what we rely on. He rejected a culture that manipulates and manufactures facts; he rejected incivility. He declared that we will get through this together.
Afterwards the Congressional leadership presented gifts to the President and Vice President. There was no mention of Trump. (He had departed town in the early morning). Vice President Pence carried out the duties of peacefully passing on power. The Inauguration ended with a sigh of relief, some joy and definite optimism. May it endure!
And so we come to the end of the story of the Trump administration. A sad, disappointing, depressing story in many ways. Yet viewed from another perspective, it was heroic, strengthening, even glorious. For four years America was governed by a man without principle, without decency, without honor—one who cared nothing for America, its principles or its people. He sought to remain in office, continuing to enrich himself and oppress Americans. This story is one of greed, malice, corrupt nepotism, aggression, evil, tragedy, unlimited incompetence, sedition, racism, fascism, even action that could be called traitorous. But America’s institutions and its patriots held, triumphing over the gravest threat we have ever faced since Benjamin’s Franklin’s memorable warning in 1787: when asked by a lady outside of Constitutional Hall at the conclusion of the Constitutional Convention what kind of government the people had been given, a monarchy or a republic. Benjamin Franklin replied, “A Republic, madam, if you can keep it.” Well, we kept it!
Keeping the Republic was not accomplished by good fortune, or by one or two heroes, or by a great leader springing up. It was held by four years of resistance, culminating in the election of 2020. It was held by many, many patriotic Americans just doing their jobs, fairly, competently and refusing to be deterred by threats—economic, political, personal—by those who would enslave us. It was held by famous people, ordinary people, thousands—millions—of citizens, Democrats, Republicans, independents who truly cared about this wonderful land of ours, founded on the principles and ideals of liberty, equality, honor, and fairness. It was saved by members of Congress, by managers of the electoral process in Georgia, by election canvasing boards in Michigan, by officials in Arizona, courts in Pennsylvania and so forth—by all of us, of whatever political stripe, all simply making sure the 2020 election was free and fair and deserving of being called the “most secure election in American history.” In conclusion, I have in mind what our Founders expected of us as heirs of the country they had created and how every generation has sought to preserve that heritage. I also recall the first few lines of “God Bless America,” written earlier and released by Irving Berlin as the world was growing darker with the rise of Adolph Hitler and the Nazi Party. The nation’s then-favorite singer, Kate Smith, sang it for the first time in her Armistice Day broadcast in 1938, less than a year before the outbreak of World War II.
God bless America, land that I love
Stand beside her and guide her
through the night with the light from above…
Perhaps it was the “light from above” which guided America through the last four years.
John Jay