One thing we’ll have less of in the Biden Oval Office
With a new year and the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris tomorrow, many Americans are looking forward to getting a fresh start. In modern terms, we can call it a “reboot” for America. Here are some areas where we will get a much-needed reboot with President Biden:
COVID — we hardly need to recount the Trump administration’s failures to address the COVID pandemic. Those failures continue today, with vaccine distribution woefully inadequate, and Trump officials predictably lying to cover their negligence (or worse). However, Joe Biden and his team have a plan to hit the ground running, from better vaccine distribution to a nationwide mask mandate. There can be little doubt that Biden will improve the Coronavirus situation.
Rejoining the world community — under Donald Trump, the U.S. has alienated its friends and cozied up to its enemies, which has shattered America’s status around the world, and made us much less safe. When President Biden takes office, many Americans can instead look forward to our country affirming our broken relationships with our NATO allies, and standing up to our adversaries like Russia, which has been waging cyber warfare against America for the past four years. Likewise, under President Biden, America will once again gather with the world community to fight climate change, by rejoining the Paris Agreement and taking other significant steps. Doing so will also improve Americans’ health and productivity, improve our environment, and create many good paying new jobs here at home.
Addressing America’s problems — One thing that President Biden can work on with the Democratic majority Congress is fixing our crumbling roads and bridges, more technically known as “infrastructure.” This has the potential to be a popular bipartisan area for action. Republicans, for example, can be reminded that healthy roads and bridges help big corporations move their trucks more efficiently, maximizing their profits. That’s in case Republicans don’t care that millions of commuters and vacationers will also save time, gasoline, money, aggravation, and maybe their lives, with safer roads and bridges.
A second issue on which we may see a change is America’s oldest problem: racism. While President Biden cannot possibly change the hearts of all the racists in America, he can direct the Department of Justice to enforce racist-motivated crimes. Biden can also use his new attention-commanding media spotlight, i.e. the presidential “bully pulpit,” to castigate and marginalize criminals and terrorists who are motivated by racism and hatred toward those who are different than they are in some way. All of this would be a gigantic change from Donald Trump, who began his first presidential campaign in 2015 by attacking immigrants from Mexico, said the bigoted thugs in Charlottesville were some of the “very fine people on both sides,” and who just recently said of the right wing U.S. Capitol terrorists, one of whom was wearing a “Camp Auschwitz” t-shirt:
I love you. You’re very special. I know how you feel.
Less drama — With Donald Trump out, Americans will be able to get back to work, and to other things that interest them, without having to worry about daily temper tantrums coming out of the White House and consuming our media. Many folks will be relieved not to wake up every morning and have to rush to open Twitter or turn on TV news to see what fresh hell has emanated from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. A little more peace and quiet may be our most welcome change of all.
Photo by Donnie Ray Jones, used under Creative Commons license. https://is.gd/MgSTIn
