Democrats are rejoicing the installment of its own brand of government, while Republicans watch with apprehension. The festivities are done, the National Guard is packing their gear.
The party leaders are heading to catered social events rife with pomp and circumstance. Meanwhile, a motorcade is whisking the newly minted president to the White House to begin his term. He’ll start by undoing the work done by his predecessor.
In his inauguration speech, he covered the typical unity and peace rhetoric, the echo of which has barely settled below an audible level, as he begins the process of dismantling the work of President Trump.
In his inaugural speech, Biden proudly proclaimed, “Without unity, there is no peace.” The optics of such a statement clearly did not occur to him or any of the Democrats on the stage.
Washington DC, the seat of our nation’s power, was devoid of American citizens. It was instead patrolled by 26,000 National Guardsmen that were carefully vetted to ensure they agreed with the new regime. Protestors were squirreled away from the limelight.
The message, despite what was proclaimed, was not one of unity, but a statement of absolute power. Here on stage, backed by the might of the US military, was your new President. We dare you to interfere.
Against this purposefully intimidating backdrop, nestled among the festive flags and buntings, Biden pledged to be “A President for all Americans, who will fight as hard for those who did not support me as for those who did.”
President Trump warned that the Paris Climate Accord will kill jobs and tank the economy. Biden wants to find out for sure. Lost in the shuffle, will be the 53,000 Americans directly employed by the coal industry.
In reference to an election that was fraught with murmurs of fraud, ballot stuffing, and questionable results, Biden stated, “The people, the will of the people, has been heard, and the will of the people has been heeded.”
He said this from behind the backdrop of 8-foot temporary walls, security checkpoints, and from behind the safety of the National Guardsmen patrolling the streets. Measures that were deemed necessary because a large portion of Americans did not believe their will was heard or heeded. Again, the irony escaped them.
Biden’s lament that we must “…end this uncivil war that pits red against blue” earlier in his speech clearly was not in his plans as, in the entirety of his speech, he failed to mention President Trump.
74 million people voted for President Trump. 74 million people that Joe Biden refused to acknowledge from the safety of his bunker at the Capitol. So much for ending the uncivil war.
Biden went on to compare his challenges with that of Abraham Lincoln before again, calling for unity. He cited the pandemic and “A cry for survival that comes from the planet itself.” Undoubtedly a reference to the Paris Climate Accord, and a harbinger of things to come. He cited “…political extremism, white supremacy, and domestic terrorism” again, calling for unity as a solution.
He went on to call out “…anger, resentment and hatred, extremism, lawlessness, violence, disease, joblessness and hopelessness.” as foes that must be faced with, you guessed it, unity. He touched briefly on jobs and referenced healthcare. Another subject bound to challenge the unity he seems to covet, as his plan will reinstate the Obamacare initiatives, including the penalty for not being covered, something President Trump wisely struck down in 2017.
Like many Americans, I watched this speech hoping to hear some profound plan, a clear direction, and viable solutions to our current national challenges. Unfortunately, like most Americans, what I heard and what I saw did not reflect the same message.