Today was quite a day in America. Some of the same. Some very different. Some odd. And some strangely normal. Strangely normal is refreshing these days.
On the one hand, an old white guy was sworn in as the 46th President of these United States. So...same old same old. 43 old white guys. Then a young black guy. Then an old white clown. And now another old white guy. Not much difference there.
On the other hand, after a never-ending string of old white guys as the Vice President, today we watched a Vice President-elect take the oath of office...and it wasn't the same old same old. It was a young, part Black, part south Asian woman.
It's certainly too early to call it a trend, but for over 200 years we had a monotonous string of the same thing. And within the last 5 years, we have had people of color, and a female, in the highest offices in the land. So, it's a start. I'm not saying that every high office should be held by a woman or person of color, but it would be nice if things moving forward better reflected what America looks like. More than 50% of us are women. Something along the lines of a third of us aren't white. And I say this as an aging white guy......every politician shouldn't look like me. Because when I look around, at work, in my neighborhood, in my kids' schools, and in the community at large...not everyone looks like me. And that's a good thing. A great thing. Our representative democracy should look like that too. When the few rule over the great many, it's not a good thing. It's not right, and from a practical standpoint, it's not sustainable. Revolutions are born out of that kind of imbalance.
It's also nice to think that there are little girls and little kids of color who are growing up in an America where there have always been minorities and women in the White House. That has never happened before. Not for my kids, and certainly not for me.
Some things are odd. An inaugural ceremony with very few people present. A parade to the White House with lots of military and police but almost no spectators.
And then there are some strangely normal things. Strangely normal things that seem odd but shouldn't. A daily White House press briefing that (A) actually happened, and (B) gave truthful information and answered questions openly and honestly, even if the answer was "I don't know (or can't say) but we'll get back to you". There are times when different is good, and there are times like this when a return to normalcy is what is needed. We need this.
As I write this, I have been wandering in an out of my home office, watching bits and pieces of the inaugural concert that is being shown on all the networks. So a few random thoughts... Lin-Manuel Miranda is a national treasure. There are performers out there that you (or I) may not know, but should. Kamala Harris is impressive. Young girls and kids of color look like they have another role model to look up to. Most importantly, we need to believe in hope, and a better future. It might be difficult to achieve, but striving for anything less is...why bother.
There is also the recognition that as good as today feels, there is a lot of hard work ahead. Digging out of a huge hole that somebody else dug is hard work. But necessary.
As Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama just said on TV, the Biden administration's success is our success, so we work together for the greater good. I hope.
As a registered Republican but clearly a Democrat, I can say that when I look back at all of the modern-era former presidents (living or not), I can view all of them as good men regardless of their political affiliations and ideology. Carter was a largely ineffective president (much of this due to circumstances), but an absolutely wonderful human being. Bush the elder was a good man, a decorated veteran, and a patriot. Clinton might have been the brightest of the bunch, but had his flaws that undermined his successes. Bush the younger I generally strongly disagreed with while in office, but when viewed in his later years (without the likes of Cheney and Rumsfeld distorting my view), has consistently stood on the side of that which is right and good regardless of political party. Removing the politics, he is unquestionably a good man, and has earned my respect. I liked Obama a lot (being a liberal Democrat and all that). You can disagree on political ideology and yet recognize that each legitimately believed they were doing the right thing, and respect them for that. You win the election, you call the shots for a while. That's how it works.
Conspicuously absent today was the former grifter-in-chief. Which was good. There isn't enough time that will pass or a large enough bottle of wine to ever make the last four years right.
To Presidents Carter, Bush the elder (posthumously), Clinton, Bush the younger, and Obama: thank you for your service.
To President Biden: good luck, you're gonna need it.
To Americans everywhere: Keep the faith. It's gonna get better.
