Will Biden be able to heal the US?

Various US presidents have faced severe challenges, ranging from the 1846-1848 Mexican War, the US Civil War, the two World Wars, Spanish Flu of 1918, the Great Depression, the Korean and Vietnam Wars to the modern day wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, besides natural calamities. All else pale before the American Civil War, which was fought from 1861 to 1865, between northern states loyal to the Union and southern states that had seceded to form the Confederate States of America. The civil war began as a result of the unresolved controversy of the enslavement of black people and its disputed continuance and took a massive death toll of between 500,000 to 620,000, which tore the nation apart to the extent that its reverberations are felt even today.

On January 6th, 2021, only a fortnight before the transition of the new government, angry mobs, who had refused to accept the results of November 2020 election, stormed the Capitol Building, the citadel of US democracy; some of them waving Confederate flags tried to disrupt the final tallying of the votes by the Electoral College. Five fatalities occurred in the melee, two of them law enforcing personnel.

In a milieu of hushed silence, sans cheering crowds or scores of foreign dignitaries invited to the event amidst extreme measures of security to deter any other violent attack and social distancing owing to the global pandemic, the inauguration ceremony took place smoothly. Joseph R. Biden Jr. assumed the mantle of 46th President of the United States of America in the backdrop of an extraordinary crisis. A once-in-a-century pandemic has killed more than 400,000 Americans and erased nearly 10 million jobs. The new President has to contend with climate change, a national reckoning on racial justice and a bitterly divided electorate. In a moving speech Biden called for an end to the “uncivil war” of political, demographic, and ideological American cultures through a greater embrace of diversity.

Biden recalled an extract from Abraham Lincoln’s commitment with his soul to signing the emancipation proclamation, as well as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s historical speech “I Have a Dream”. Addressing a nation, which is badly fractured and in dire need of healing, the new president did not demur from boldly naming all that ails his nation including “white supremacy”. Apparently, a lot of thought had gone into his carefully-worded speech. The choice of the performers of mixed origins spoke volumes for the diversity and how the new administration plans to bridge the divide. An eloquently delivered poem read by one of the stars of the event, America’s National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman sent a powerful message. The president himself summed it up when he declared: “Here we stand where, 108 years ago at another inaugural, thousands of protesters tried to block brave women marching for the right to vote. And today, we mark the swearing of the first woman in American history elected to national office, Vice President Kamala Harris.”

Across the National Mall to 13th Street, a public art display composed of 191,500 US flags and 56 pillars of light (representing the 50 US states, DC, and the five permanently inhabited US territories), were installed, representing those who could not attend the inauguration in person due to the attendance restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

While laying out a path forward, calling on all Americans to work together and press forward with speed and urgency, to repair, restore, heal, and build, President Biden is cognizant of the challenges ahead. The question is will he be able to cut Gordian’s Knot and tackle the myriad problems and move beyond rhetoric to restore the soul and secure the future of America?

He is appearing to be moving in the right direction both domestically and internationally. Within hours of his inauguration, Biden rejoined the Paris Agreement and the World Health Organization and rescinded the Trump Administration’s so-called Muslim ban, which restricted immigration from a host of Muslim-majority countries. President Biden will be focused on two primary objectives: curbing the spread of COVID-19 and delivering economic assistance to families in need. By April 30, Biden’s 100th day in office, the Administration hopes to have vaccinated 100 million Americans, authorized the Defense Production Act to increase the vaccine supply, and safely reopened the majority of elementary and middle schools.

The Biden administration will be dependent on a fractious Congress to authorize funding for both its vaccine distribution and economic stimulus plans. The new President is keen to secure approval of the $1.9 trillion relief package he proposed on January 14. But it is not yet clear how much Republican support he can muster, despite his pledge that he will be a President for all Americans and will fight as hard for those who did not support him as for those who did. And even with narrow Democratic control of both chambers, the pace of the negotiations may be slowed by the Senate’s impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump.

The gurus overseeing the economy, opine that as soon as the threat of COVID-19 abates through mass vaccinations and herd immunity, the economy will begin to rebound on its own. The economic stimulus proposal Biden released will only serve as a pain reliever. Besides direct payment to families, the economic plan would envisage doling out $130 billion to schools to help them reopen safely as well as $15 billion in grants to small businesses to help supplement lost revenue, besides focusing on job creation. The key factor in all these is mustering the approval of the Congress and Senate.

Two major issues, Biden highlighted in his inaugural speech, are the dual crises of racial justice and climate change. The Administration’s proposed stimulus plan also addresses several items raised by the Black Lives Matter movement. That includes assistance for communities of color hit disproportionately hard by the pandemic, funding to expand community health centers and prioritizing relief for minority­owned small businesses.

The success of Biden in remoulding the US into a state will need a Herculean effort but well begun is half done.