#Inauguration2021

Started by dsanchez, January 20, 2021, 18:03:08

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dsanchez

2023.11.22 Lima
2023.11.27 Montevideo

Ulrich

I had some time on my hands this afternoon and watched (most of) it live on telly. I must say I'm not a fan of Lady Gaga, but the way she sang the national hymn was okay.

Gotta respect Pence and ex president Bush for turning up at this event.  :smth023
The holy city breathed like a dying man...

dsanchez

2023.11.22 Lima
2023.11.27 Montevideo

Ulrich

Even more class->
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/20/amanda-gorman-poem-biden-inauguration-transcript

QuoteThe 22-year-old poet wowed the crowd with her reading during Joe Biden's swearing-in.
The holy city breathed like a dying man...

dsanchez

2023.11.22 Lima
2023.11.27 Montevideo

SueC

Establishment or not, it's nice to see responsible adults back in administration, and I do think a fair few of them have their hearts in the right place, plus their policies are so much better.  :smth023

Did you see the Guardian line on how Florida welcomed another senior citizen yesterday?  :lol:
SueC is time travelling

SueC

I've read a few write-ups of the Inauguration - some terribly cynical, some saccharine - but I think this one is nearest to how I felt about it:

QuoteThe speeches stressing unity, conciliation, community and compassion were heartfelt and reassuring, but they wouldn't have seemed so startling if it hadn't been so long since we'd heard anything like that from our leaders. And the ceremony might have been less powerful if we weren't in the midst of a pandemic, if we hadn't spent months knowing that we were suffering and dying and no one was taking charge or even admitting what was happening.

I remember the night Obama was elected; it was like a huge party blowing through the streets of New York City. The fact that his term was followed by Donald Trump's has made me wary of long-term optimism. I know there were people watching the Inauguration who won't readily trade their rage for open-heartedness just because Joe Biden think it's a good idea, and others who weren't as thrilled as I was when J-Lo broke into Spanish, acknowledging a simple truth: we live in a multilingual country. I'm still worried about the things that alarmed me before: the environment, racism, health care, misogyny, gender discrimination, income inequality, mass incarceration, the likelihood that the pandemic will get worse before it gets better ... the list goes on.

But for now, just for now, it feels great. It feels like someone is in charge, someone in touch with reality. Someone who cares about the rest of the world, who wants things to get better, who thinks of something – anything – other than himself. Someone who speaks, as Joe Biden did, about leading "not by the example of our power, but by the power of our example." Someone who hugs his wife. Someone who isn't heartless: I would have settled for that.

That might seem like setting the bar awfully low, but it's the difference between life and death, between the survival of our nation and the death spiral into which our democracy was headed.

The rest is worth reading too, at:  https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jan/22/the-last-4-years-of-trump-were-hell-what-a-relief-its-finally-over
SueC is time travelling