The New Dawn

Tears streamed from my eyes this morning as I watched the parading of the American Colors. It was an unexpected moment of emotion I shall hold dear, for it was also a moment of recognition that these traditions are valuable far beyond what may seem simple pageantry to some. They are the very traditions that bind a people together as one.

Sobs racked my frame as the First Woman to ever take the oath of the Vice President of the United States of America placed her hand on her warm beating heart and vowed to defend our Democracy. Vice President Kamala Harris now carries both the honor and the burden of women everywhere to demonstrate that, in fact anything IS possible……..for women too! She shoulders this weight on behalf of both those who are speechless with joy at the anticipated become reality, and on behalf of those who disdain her feminine leadership as inadequate or worse. Regardless of support, she walks forward in strength, standing on the shoulders of many others, carrying liberty for all women everywhere into the future.

I sat with gratitude and wonder as one after another, women of color were centered in the proceedings. I was grateful that the amazing talents and abilities of a striking variety of women and men all paid tribute to this extraordinary moment in history which we are, as a nation, witnessing. So much talent, passion, and color were at the table and I am thankful.

President Joe Biden finally capped the event with words of hope and restoration which strike at exactly what we need. Some of us believed that we needed the fiery voices of people like Bernie, and perhaps that time will come. But at this moment, we NEED the moderation, the kindness, the diplomacy, and the experience of the 46^th President of the USA. We need his vision of hope, his belief in our nations ability to unite and restore. We need the peace and calm he brings to the White House.

Finally, I want to pay tribute to the voice of a young and accomplished Black woman, Ms. Amanda Gorman, whose eloquence was unmatched on the stage today as she recited from her poem, The Hill We Climb. I’d like to quote her here “But while democracy can be periodically delayed, it can never be permanently defeated. In this truth, in this faith, we trust, for while we have our eyes on the future, history has its eyes on us. This is the era of just redemption. We feared it at its inception. We did not feel prepared to be the heirs of such a terrifying hour, but within it, we found the power to author a new chapter, to offer hope and laughter to ourselves. So while once we asked, how could we possibly prevail over catastrophe? Now we assert, how could catastrophe possibly prevail over us?”

Indeed, how can catastrophe prevail over us when we, as Biden so heartily offered, chose to be unified in purpose and in love? May we move towards solidarity and strength. Let us leave behind the language of division and look forward to, as again Ms. Gorman proclaims,

“The new dawn blooms as we free it. For there is always light. If only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it.”