I’m likely not the only one. As I watched the inauguration of President Joe Biden and all the ceremonial trappings, I couldn’t help thinking about the elephant in the Capitol room. Two weeks earlier this was a crime scene. The Capitol had been turned into the Baghdad Green Zone. Once it had been unconscionably breached and desecrated on Jan. 6, could anything be precluded? Would the swearing-in be countered by a swearing at? Was there a security rogue lurking? I didn’t give voice to it. We were replacing the Confederate-in-chief with a Commander-in-chief. Comity and decency were on display. When the unexpected turns out to be Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s mispronunciation of “Kamala” and Lady Gaga’s balloon skirt, you know you’ve dodged the bullet.
President Biden’s speech was “carnage” free, unity-themed and spot on—with equal parts candor, empathy and hope. It was what we needed to hear. And history was made by Vice President Harris. And that history was abetted and underscored by the young African-American poet, Amanda Gorman, in her recitation of “The Hill We Climb.” Pitch perfect for the occasion.