(Note: This article is categorized as an Op-Ed. As such, all opinions are that of staff writer Kelsey Byrd’s, and do not reflect the ideas or thoughts of Memorial High School nor the MHS Journalism staff team as a whole.)

Today, on January 20th, after 1,460 days of Trump’s reign of unparalleled terror, America turns a new page with the inauguration of the 46th President Joe Biden and his Vice President Kamala Harris. Today, America rejects the detrimental products of bigotry, racism and hate spewed by the previous administration and its unparalleled assault on democracy. Today, the United States learns what it means to have hope again. 

When the new and improved administration took the stage, it was impossible to describe the aura and emotions pulsing through the audience. For one, there was the historic component of Vice President Harris’s nomination to office, as explained by Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar. “We celebrate our first African-American, first Asian-American, and first women Vice President,” Klobuchar told the crowd. However history also could be seen somberly in the crowd of flags, which stood in place of a crowd that couldn’t be due to Covid-19. President Biden acknowledged this by calling for a moment of silence, in what was perhaps the most moving moment in a myriad of memorable comments and actions. “In my first act as President, I’d like to ask you to join me in a moment of silent prayer to remember all those who we have lost in this past year to the pandemic,” the President said. “Those 400,000 fellow Americans- moms, dads, husbands, wives, sons, daughters, friends, neighbors and coworkers. We will honor them by becoming the people and nation we know we can and should be. So I ask you, let’s say a silent prayer for those who’ve lost their lives and those left behind, and for our country.” This small showcase of empathy by the President is already a departure from the callous indifference displayed by his predecessor towards the virus. It was both a touching tribute to the thousands lost in this devastating pandemic and a hopeful difference of tone that promised leadership prepared to put Americans first. 

More than just the aforementioned display of compassion was the promise of both change and return to tradition. President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’s historic administration doesn’t just portray a celebration of diversity, it assures legislative reversal of the atrocities committed by the incumbent before them. Such executive orders including reversing the Muslim ban, preventing anti-LGBTQ job discrimination and re-joining the Paris Climate Agreement. It wasn’t just talks of alterations though, as President Biden promised to restore America to the traditions of congressional unity and civil discussion. “We will repair our alliances and engage with the world once again,” the President said in his speech. 

It is clear that our nation’s new leaders have an incredibly difficult job ahead of them- they must address an increasingly growing pandemic, work to solve systematic racism, fix a shambled economy and unite a deeply divided country. It is also equally clear that not all of the problems plaguing the US will be answered, nor will coming up with solutions be easy. But just for today, let’s focus on what did go right. Americans showed up in droves to reject the domestic threats that worked to dismantle US democracy, and instead elected leaders who would push the progressive agenda so desperately needed. Today was historic and profound in every sense, but it was also essential for the prosperity of this nation’s people. Today was necessary to promise a better tomorrow.