Biden's presidential call for unity

On a clear, crisp day in the nation’s capital, America began to turn the page.

The opportunity lies before us. Newly inaugurated President Joe Biden issued the right challenge to a nation wracked by its divisions when he asked Americans in his inaugural address to join him in ending what he called the "uncivil war" that’s been stoked in recent years. Biden appealed to our better angels, not our worst, and asked us to summon our best instincts, not our most base.

It was a familiar call, amplified by the magnitude of the moment. Biden addressed the nation in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol, attacked two weeks ago by a mob encouraged by former President Donald Trump seeking to overturn the results of the election.

Biden’s appeal to both sides to rise above that, to stop shouting and start listening, tapped into the essence of American democracy — that a loyal opposition is a necessary part of government, that dissent and disagreement are not only tolerated but also welcomed, and that denigration and demonization are poisonous and lead to bitterness, outrage and chaos.

Biden is correct that we must achieve some sense of unity to move forward. He made a strong case Wednesday; success will depend on the political leaders and everyday citizens he asked to join him. Biden cannot do this alone. We each need to start listening in our own communities, our own workplaces, and our own families to rebuild trust.

It was a remarkable Inauguration Day on many levels, rich in the imagery and symbols, some typical of the day and some not. The gathering of former presidents, Democrats and Republicans, in support of a new chief executive was familiar and comforting, even if their smiles were cloaked by masks made necessary by the pandemic.

This hardly was the peaceful transfer of power to which America is accustomed. The National Mall stretching out before Biden was not teeming with people, a nod to concerns about violence and the coronavirus, and the ceremony unfolded inside a protective ring of 25,000 National Guard members. The unsettledness of the moment was elegantly evoked by 22-year-old inaugural poet Amanda Gorman, who observed that "quiet isn’t always peace."

Surely, the day’s most powerful image was the sight of Kamala Harris being sworn in as vice president. The first woman to win a national election in the United States and the first Black and first Indian American vice president, she’s now a part of history that took long to make. Her presence on the platform with her hand on a Bible was a profound lesson about possibility and dreams for children of all genders and colors.

But the ceremony was tinged by other realities. Biden was realistic about the crises that await. The coronavirus has killed 400,000 Americans and claims another 3,000 every day. The economy is struggling. Racial justice is mostly still a mirage. Climate change is worsening, economic inequality is widening, and our health care system is buckling.

His words of urgency were underscored by a flurry of activity after he took his oath of office, as he signed executive orders to set mask and social distancing mandates on federal property, extend the pause on interest and payments on student loans, rescind the Keystone XL pipeline permit, rejoin the Paris climate deal, and undo the previous administration’s onerous immigration policies. To that last point, Biden also is sending Congress a comprehensive immigration reform bill.

Lasting progress will depend on his ability to work with lawmakers, including some in his own party, whose default has been non-negotiation. Trump’s impending impeachment trial in the Senate could complicate Biden’s call for solving problems together. And this Congress is narrowly divided. Democrats hold a smaller House majority and a 1-vote edge in the 50-50 Senate because Harris is the tiebreaking vote. We hope she doesn’t have many such opportunities, but that’ll happen only if senators answer Biden’s call.

It won’t be easy. Biden correctly condemned domestic terrorism, white supremacy and a culture of lying — what he called attacks on truth "for power and profit" — as corrosive threats. Nourished by Trump, they are impediments to any return to order. But even with that dark acknowledgment, Biden was achingly earnest in saying that America’s renewal lies within each of us. He pledged his "whole soul" to the effort to demonstrate his commitment, and asked the same from every American.

How will we respond? We can retreat again to the dark corners that have defined us, or embrace the words of the young poet Gordon, who noted that "there is always light ... if only we’re brave enough to be it."

It’s time to turn the page.

— The editorial board