It was a long 2020. It had a pandemic, political and economic difficulties. Many of us are tired of political polarization and the constant spread of hatred. It is not just that we do not want to be hated; we don’t want to hate either. We want to get along, make progress and work together to make our country better for our children. We are exhausted, frustrated and feeling helpless. We want to make a difference and I know we can.
On the afternoon of January 6, while our nation’s Capitol was under attack, several volunteers (including me) were involved in a strategic planning session for the Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students. For me, the chance to participate in something positive, focused on the future and focused on helping our youngest children was a perfect antidote to the national spectacle of party violence. I was doing something positive to help my community.
This Wednesday, Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States. His election is the 59th for a President of the United States since we declared our freedom from Britain. Half the country is celebrating, and half the country is not. A little history can give us this perspective: Our country can face storms and move forward together.
The first inauguration was scheduled for March 4, 1789, by the Congress of the Confederation. Cold weather in New York (the nation’s capital at the time) delayed the government’s official start. Washington was sworn in on April 30 (at least this inauguration was completed on time).
Abraham Lincoln was elected president as the nation headed for war; over 80% of eligible voters participated. He received less than 40 percent of the popular vote, but obtained 59 percent of the electoral vote. Between his election and his oath, seven states – South Carolina, Mississippi, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana and Texas – split from the Union.
Lincoln was determined not to let the nation fragment. In his first inauguration speech, he declared: “I don’t want to close. We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Although passion may have forced it, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystical chords of memory, extending from every battlefield and patriot’s grave to every heart and living stone throughout this vast land, will still add to the Union choir, when again played, as they certainly will be, by the best angels of our nature. “
He made this speech while standing in front of the United States Capitol dome, in half, from which a crane protruded from the top. Construction continued during the war as a sign that our country would last. In its second inaugural speech, the summit would be completed. The war would end just over a month later.
When then President Barack Obama gave his farewell speech four years ago, he referred to American exceptionalism, saying it was “a great gift that our founders gave us: the freedom to pursue our individual dreams through our sweat, work and imagination, and the imperative to fight together, too, to achieve a common good, a greater good … so that’s what we mean when we say that America is exceptional – not that our nation was perfect from the start, but that we show the ability to change and make life better for those who follow it. “
America is exceptional, not because of who we are as individuals, but because of the model of self-government that our Founding Fathers created and that we continue to practice today. We recognize that each of us was created by God and was given certain inalienable rights: life, freedom and the pursuit of happiness. Then we lend those rights to the government, but people have real power in our country. We need to learn to exercise this power in our communities.
This week, breathe; take a step back; and reassess. The people who are driving political polarization are the media, social networks and politicians. Most Americans want the same thing as you: to work together to make our country better. To get there, find an organization that works in an area that interests you (for me it’s parks, education, financial education and breaking the homeless cycle), and spend your time with people on both sides of the corridor who care with the same things.
Before you know it, you will have rekindled the bonds of affection that unite us, while making life better for those who follow you. That, my American colleagues, will help us to create a more perfect and lasting union.
Jackie Gingrich Cushman is a union columnist.