Words matter. They lead to action, good or bad. Words can be poisonous snakes that bite our nation, inject venom into our discourse, and lead to the death of America’s greatness.
But words can also be the fresh morning sun shining down on our land. They can be a new, healing light for America that brings hope, opportunity, and a new day.
Such luminous words act as a radiant torch exposing the divisive devil hiding in the darkness among us. And with our instruments of truth and transparency, we can grab him and expel him from our midst. I have heard such words!
President Biden’s spoken words at his inauguration became that fresh morning sunshine that this great nation desperately needs. Over and over again, he called for UNITY.
Biden said his “whole soul” is in uniting our people, uniting our nation. Uniting us to “fight the foes we face,” and there are many. With unity, he said, we can “make America once again the leading cause for good in the world.” Such refreshing words!
But what of our partisan disagreements? Well, Biden asked to be honestly judged, while still admitting that you may not agree with him, and “that is democracy” he said. And that is okay! Truthful words!
Biden’s brilliant words included mention of “our better angels,” “lowering the temperature,” and that “history, faith, and reason show the way of unity”. He said that we should see each other “not as adversaries, but as neighbors,” and that we should treat each other with “dignity and respect”.
Words matter, and Biden knows this. And yesterday he used them intelligently in an honorable attempt to heal America and bring us together. I am grateful for his inspiring words of unity!
Further, it would be a crime for me to write of words spoken yesterday without mentioning the jaw-dropping, unbelievable recitation by Inaugural Poet Amanda Gorman. A self-described “skinny black girl, descended from slaves, and raised by a single mother.” Wow.
And she rose up to deliver her poem that will go down in history as perhaps the best inaugural poem ever. A poem that was re-written by her after the January 6th storming of the U.S. Capitol. She wrote, “We’ve seen a force that would shatter our nation rather than share it,” and “while democracy can be periodically delayed, it can never be permanently defeated.”
Her words were truthful, painful where they needed to be, and overall hopeful for the future of America. Her words were a priceless work of art that met this moment in American history.
However I must note that this poet’s inspiration came not just from her poem’s words alone. Ms. Gorman’s tone, her diction, and her elegant hand movements came together in a symphony of oratorical grace that would make Frederick Douglass believe he had met his match. Well done, Ms. Gorman!
Words matter. And the words spoken at Biden’s inauguration bring a new hope for American Unity, American Democracy, and thus all of humanity.
May we all work together putting those hopeful words into actions that serve the common good.