I know we as a nation have many challenges ahead of us. Cults and cult-like thinking have unfortunately gripped many of our citizens, and the world’s citizens as well. There is much cynicism and suspicion.
Yet, I am elated today. I woke up to the news that he-who-shall-not-be-named had slunk out of the White House, and that Joseph R. Biden’s inauguration would begin within the hour. I watched live on New York Times.com, and I was moved. I know the crowds were absent, and the masks made it difficult to see people’s faces and expressions. I’m sure for many the ceremony felt anti-climactic.
But, for me, this was the most exciting inauguration ever, and for obvious reasons. My God, we did it. The ogre who occupied the office is gone. His taint is gone. I’m not (too) naive. I know damage has been done, that massive and dangerous fault lines exist.
But I feel genuinely optimistic, excited, and hopeful. Biden’s speech was great. Our youth poet laureate Amanda Gorman was astounding.
White supremacy clearly exists. And those who embody it were stirred from their cold caves and from beneath rocks and ledges by the demagogue we trounced.
But I believe, and sincerely hope, they are a dying breed. The years march on. The generations turn. The dinosaurs that believe white people are supreme (Gawd) won’t always be here. Hopefully, their children, or at least some of them, most of them, will reject the dogma that they were steeped in during their growing years.
We can only hope that light and good prevail. That cynicism and distrust can be eased. That Biden and his cabinet, and all of us, can be part of the solution. That we can reach out to those who are suffering, those who have been left behind and radicalized.
I think of airplanes dropping flyers, tickets, meals over the middle of the country. We must extend a lifeline. We must extend a hand. Jobs training, universal basic income, a works program. People are exhausted.
I am exhausted too. I heaved a huge sigh when Joseph R. Biden won the election, but that sigh was immediately supplanted by shallow breathing again when you-know-who began his incredible misinformation campaign, culminating in the terrifying and sickening attack on the Capitol two weeks ago. The nerve. The audacity.
This morning, when I woke up and looked at my phone and saw that the creature from the Black Lagoon was really, actually gone, I heaved another great sigh. I felt the air come in, I felt it lift my chest, I felt it occupy every corner and cranny of my lungs. I felt muscles in the sides of my neck I didn’t even know existed relax.
Today, I stand taller. I look out my living room window, and I see a brighter sky, a greener mountain, baby blades of grass struggling through the black clay soil of my front yard.
I feel quiet. I feel hopeful. I feel excited. I am making cassoulet today, and I will do so with reverence and gratitude. I will hike on the mountain today, and I will do so with a quieter mind.
The toxicity level in the air, in the news, in the streaming content assailing us at all hours of the day, has been reduced, diminished. The fever has broken.
The pressure in my chest has been eased.
I am at peace.
Let’s all do what Biden has asked, and work for unity, if not for us, then for our children, to leave them a better country, a safer world. Let’s remember Amanda Gorman’s words, in direct homage to Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton: “History has its eyes on us.”
So, my friends, today, take a deep breath. Take lots of them. And maybe take a little time to look inward. Soften, relax, wrap your arms around yourself. Cultivate self-compassion in order to grow a seed of compassion for others, even those we may be dismayed by.
We’re going to need it for the work ahead.