OVERNIGHT, the poet and activist Amanda Gorman gained an international following at the inauguration last week of U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. She radiated grace, a wisdom beyond her years, and hope. Many lines from “The Hill We Climb” will no doubt end up in Pinterest boards, if these haven’t already.
“Somehow we’ve weathered and witnessed / a nation that isn’t broken / but simply unfinished.” This was my favorite, and it wouldn’t be surprising to find that this call to hope rings true for so many people in different countries.
I must confess, however, that of the many warm and fuzzy moments the day offered, I enjoyed most the memes that featured Sen. Bernie Sanders. He was just trying to keep warm, the Democrat from Vermont later told talk show host Seth Myers. He had no idea his image—of Sanders practically cocooned in a simple winter jacket, mask, and adorable mittens a teacher knitted for him using recycled wool—would launch a thousand memes.
There’s the senator, who sometimes looks a little grumpy, sitting on a ledge beside Deadpool; playing what appears to be a tense match in a dark hall in Russia against the chess prodigy Beth Harmon from “The Queen’s Gambit,”; and peering over Jesus Christ’s right shoulder in Da Vinci’s “The Last Supper.” The memes, while funny, do not strike a mean-spirited note. If anything, the former presidential contender’s fan base seems to love that he’s getting all that attention.
I wonder how Republican voters and politicians are taking all the changes in. Conservative columnists and podcast hosts wasted no time in comparing Biden’s pronouncements during the campaign with the executive orders he signed and issued on his first afternoon at work. That’s not surprising.
What feels strange is the silence from most corners of the Republican base.
Two lines from Gorman’s poem come back, haunting: “It’s because being American is more than a pride we inherit; it’s the past we step into and how we repair it.” One would have to be a committed cynic to disagree.
If only talking about repair were as easy as doing it.
“We cannot reach out to Republicans indefinitely,” Senator Sanders tweeted. “If they choose not to come on board to help the American people now, we have the majority. We should use that majority.” As the new chair of the U.S. Senate’s budget committee, Sanders will play a key role in getting the Biden administration’s economic stimulus and public health programs approved. While he may be happy to inspire some harmless memes with his mittens, when it comes to getting the work done and dealing with staunch Republicans, the gloves are off.
The repair work ahead of American constituents themselves will be trickier. Imagine being a Democrat or someone more progressive whose aunt or brother or son had participated in that riot inside the U.S. Capitol last Jan. 6. How would you repair that relationship? How would it feel to sit with them at the Thanksgiving table?
Politics has always been personal. But in the last decade or so, the political views of those we know or love have been revealed to us, proclaimed in their social media feeds and in the videos they have shared with us. It hasn’t always been a pleasant surprise.
In the last four years, for instance, I have struggled to reconcile the fact that some of the kindest, most generous people I know enthusiastically support the killing of civilians, never mind the principle of presumption of innocence. As our own elections approach, and those are merely 15 months away, I wonder how many of my friendships will be strained beyond the point of repair.