"The New Dawn Blooms As We Free It"

Amanda Gorman, National Youth Poet Laureate
Photo from Politico.com

"The new dawn blooms as we free it

For there is always light,

if only we're brave enough to see it

If only we're brave enough to be it."

Last week marked a new era.  I am hopeful for the first time in a long time.  Watching Joe and Kamala take their oaths on Inauguration Day, hearing Lady Gaga sing about our flag and our democracy, and, most of all, bearing witness to Amanda Gorman's breathtaking reciting of her heartfelt poem, fills me with so much hope for the future.  I didn't realize the burden of fear and stress I was holding (along with so many other Americans) as we witnessed the devastation the took place over the past four years, until I physically felt the weight lifted this week.  I didn't realize the tears of joy and laughter that I was waiting to release until Wednesday night, and I am confident in our new leaders to be the people we need them to be right now.  

Biden and Harris are faced with daunting tasks in the coming months and years as our country is suffering so greatly, but instead of dread or terror, I have this very real sense that the worst is over.  The racism, lies, manipulation, fear, and economic hardship of the Trump era haven't gone away, but we have a plan now to move through this.  We are ready to rebuild, to find common ground once again, to listen instead of talk.  Our country is ready to follow the guidance of science, to be a world leader again, and to unite for the common good.  2020 was this never-ending rock bottom that seemed to fall deeper and deeper, culminating in the riots on the Capitol earlier this month, but my faith in this country and in our Democracy has been renewed as the rioters are being held accountable for their actions and the former President was impeached for the second time.  This is a country that will not tolerate disgrace, and this is a country I can get behind once again.  This is a country that may stand a chance at being respected around the world.  Harris said in her speech, "We not only see what has been, we see what can be.  We are bold, fearless and ambitious. We are undaunted in our belief that we shall overcome, that we shall rise up. This is American aspiration."

Amanda Gorman put it so beautifully, "Somehow we've weathered and witnessed / a nation that isn't broken / but simply unfinished."

On Wednesday I was proud to be raising my daughters in this country, a sentiment I haven't felt authentically in a long time.  I was filled with joy for them to see the beautiful and diverse panel of women leaders who stood at the podium on Inauguration Day, and to read about the new members of staff that Biden has already appointed.  "To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and conditions of man," Amanda recites.  I am still so amazed to think that my girls will live in a world in which a woman in the White House is normal. 

 

Ady shows her Kamala pride after the election in November

Meredith is overly excited about Inauguration Day

"And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us

but what stands before us

We close the divide because we know, to put our future first, 

we must first put our differences aside 

We lay down our arms

so we can reach out our arms 

to one another."

Coinciding with the momentous political events with the week, the COVID-19 numbers in our local community are on the decline for the first time since last fall, and our hospital's COVID unit was downsized later last week.  Watching the crew move the temporary barrier marking the edge of the isolation unit was symbolic and monumental, reflecting the hard work and devotion of our clinical staff and our local community in coming together toward a common goal.  I remember watching the temporary wall that demarcated the edge of the unit move further and further down the hall last fall, expanding the unit room by room, as simultaneously our sense of dread grew, knowing that the crisis was worsening whether we were prepared or not.  Now, this week, seeing the wall move back up the hallway was not insignificant.  I felt the dread lessen.  I felt a sense of calm, knowing that COVID is nowhere near over, but that, for now, it is manageable.  I felt hopeful that all of our efforts are leading to something good.

I have written previously about hope versus optimism, and today I have both.  I choose to be optimistic, to expect that things will turn out for the best, and to focus on the really beautiful things that are happening rather than the hatred and the unrest that still exist.  But I also choose to be hopeful, to believe in America's ability to overcome adversity and find reconciliation, to acknowledge our country's past and the growing we still need to do, and trust that the next four years will be better.

This team will do great things. 
Photo from CNN.

The stage is set for something big.  "Democracy has prevailed."