By MARSHA MERCER
At the first presidential inauguration I attended in
person, President Ronald Reagan opened his address with a nod to the peaceful
transfer of power.
“To a few of us here today, this is a solemn and most
momentous occasion; and yet, in the history of our nation, it is a commonplace
occurrence. The orderly transfer of authority as called for in the Constitution
routinely takes place as it has for almost two centuries and few of us stop to
think how unique we really are,” Reagan said just after noon on Jan. 20, 1981.
“In the eyes of many in the world, this every-four-year
ceremony we accept as normal is nothing less than a miracle.”
Little did we know then how much of a miracle we took
for granted.
I was new to Washington in 1981 and, sitting in the
press section as the temperature hit a balmy 55 degrees, I was agog at the
scene.
The oaths of office by the vice president and
president, Nancy Reagan in her bright red coat, prayers, military bands,
speeches and 21-gun salute all played out before a cheering throng that stretched
from the West Front of the Capitol into the distance on the National Mall.
I fell in love with the “commonplace occurrence” and
made a point of witnessing in person every outdoor inauguration since – nine in
all. Arctic temperatures in 1985 forced Reagan to move his second inauguration
inside, keeping me out along with more than 140,000 invited guests.
I loved the stirrings of hope and renewal inaugurations
brought to the surface. Even if I preferred a different presidential victor, I
was usually glad to see the joy that animated the day.
Let’s hope those halcyon days are not a thing of the
past.
Like millions of Americans, I’ll watch Joe Biden’s
presidential inauguration Wednesday on TV or online. The sad and chilling
confluence of the novel coronavirus and credible threats of violence since the
Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump have
suspended our time-honored traditions.
Trump, who still falsely claims the election was
stolen from him, was impeached Wednesday on a bipartisan House vote for
inciting the violence at the Capitol, becoming the only president in history to
be impeached twice.
He said he will not attend Biden’s inauguration, the first
president to back out since Andrew Johnson refused in 1869 to attend Ulysses S.
Grant’s swearing-in. Johnson too had been impeached, but one vote saved him
from being removed from office.
Biden, the mayor of Washington and the governors of
Virginia and Maryland have sent one message to well-wishers and those who have evil
intentions alike: Stay home.
Trump issued a video statement Wednesday after he was
impeached that didn’t mention impeachment or regret but said: “Violence and
vandalism have absolutely no place in our country and no place in our movement.”
Our movement? At least 16 groups, some whose members
are armed pro-Trumpians, have registered for protests in Washington. The FBI warns
those protests as well as others planned in every state capitol this week threaten
to turn violent.
Seven-foot fences have been erected around the
Capitol, and tens of thousands of National Guard troops will be on duty to protect
the small group of dignitaries attending the Biden inauguration in person.
Biden’s inaugural theme of “America United” sounds
more aspirational than realistic, but he must start somewhere. Biden faces a
monumental task as long as Trump is falsely telling more than 70 million voters
he was wronged.
Americans used to understand that some of us were
bound to be disappointed by a presidential contest. Defeat meant it was time to
assess what went wrong, regroup and go to work – not use American flags as
weapons to beat people.
The 1980 election was no picnic for incumbent Democratic
President Jimmy Carter, who won just 49 electoral votes to Republican Reagan’s
489.
But Carter conceded to Reagan in a telephone call
before 10 p.m. on Election Day and promised his support for the transition. At
his inauguration, Reagan thanked Carter for his “gracious cooperation.”
We won’t hear anything like that from Biden, of course.
Nor should we, for Trump hasn’t cooperated at all, much less graciously.
The best we can hope for is a peaceful day and week. That
would be worth celebrating.
(© Marsha Mercer. All rights reserved.
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