President Joseph R. Biden Jr. ― what a relief it is to write those words ― was unstintingly candid in acknowledging the drastic circumstances that made his inauguration so unlike any other. His appeal for the necessary unity to overcome those shadows recalled John F. Kennedy's speech of 60 years ago.
Biden's summary was sobering. "We face an attack on our democracy and on truth," he said. "A raging virus, growing inequity, the sting of systemic racism, a climate in crisis. America's role in the world. Any one of these would be enough to challenge us in profound ways. But the fact is, we face them all at once."
So, once again, it is a time to ask, as Kennedy said, not what our country can do for us, but what we can do for our country.
This is what we can do. It begins with accepting Biden's promise to be the president for everyone, including those who did not vote for him. For him to heal our nation requires the trust of the people.
It means taking to heart that, as he put it, "We can see each other, not as adversaries, but as neighbors. We can treat each other with dignity and respect. We can join forces, stop the shouting, and lower the temperature."
"For without unity," he said, "there is no peace, only bitterness and fury."
Biden spoke at the same place where only two weeks before, a riotous mob had attempted to intimidate Congress into overturning his election. The peaceful transfer of power that took place Wednesday was a triumph over that insurrection and a reaffirmation of the essence of our democracy.
Yet it had to be protected with enough National Guard troops to staff two full Army divisions, and the citadels of that democracy were off-limits to all but a relatively few dignitaries and invited guests.
The pandemic that had taken 400,000 lives in just the one year since the nation's first case was confirmed further depressed in-person attendance at what had almost always been a joyous national festival.
To hear Biden, however, was to be assured that all this, too, shall pass. And it can pass if the Congress and the people support him in finally making control of the coronavirus the government's first and most urgent priority.
It can pass if all those who exercise power on behalf of the people acknowledge, as only some have, that Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris won the fairest, most error-free and honestly counted election in memory. Those in Congress and elsewhere who helped incite the Jan. 6 coup attempt don't owe an apology simply to Biden and Harris; they also owe it to the American people. So long as they persist in denial, they remain disloyal to the Constitution and to the people.
Our new president is an optimist who tries to evoke that trait in others. His religious faith inclines him to tolerance, forgiveness and empathy.
The most moving and memorable aspect of the transition actually took place on the eve of the inauguration, when Biden and Harris paid their respects and the nation's victims of COVID-19. Around the Reflecting Pool and at other sites around the country, each of 400 candles represented a thousand lives lost.
"To heal, we must remember," he said. And on Wednesday, he made it "my first act as president" to ask for a moment of silence to remember the 400,000.
"We'll honor them," he said, "by becoming the people and the nation we know we can and should be." The nation had been waiting much too long to hear words like that.
The Constitution specifies only the beginning of a president's term in office and the oath to be taken. Over time, the inauguration has come to symbolize much more to the American people. Among other things, that milestone for a president is almost always a new beginning for the nation.
Biden spoke eloquently to that Wednesday in these words: "America has been tested, and we've come out stronger for it. We will repair our alliances and engage with the world once again. Not to meet yesterday's challenges, but today's and tomorrow's challenges."
"And we'll lead not merely by the example of our power, but by the power of our example. We'll be a strong and trusted partner for peace, progress and security."
Our nation has sorely needed the new beginning that Biden and Harris represent. Our job as citizens is to make the most of it.
This editorial appeared at the South Florida Sun Sentinel and was distributed by Tribune Content Agency.
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