inaugurated

We have lived up until this moment: Joe Biden's inauguration into presidential office on January 20, 2021. The Washington Mall is dead quiet at 6 AM EST - flags instead of people that would normally crowd the plaza in advance of the noon festivities.

I was born in 1984. I read Orwell's text in high school and cringed; Farenheit 451 and lamented our reality; and balked at Ayn Rand's Anthem. My father worked through many administrations, from 1965 to 2012. My grandfather died in 2004, blissfully ahead of any of this hell. The patriarchy in my family has seen a lot of war and tragedy, and I, the matriarch of my future family, have survived this far.

The TV screen this morning is littered with red white & blue colors - suits, ties, dresses, blazers - and finally, we sigh, democracy has returned to America. But: this will be a slow burn. Just as Congress was stormed some weeks ago, so too will the blogs and internet with paranoia and suspicion for months (years) to come. What gives me some relief is that I trust the news now: CNN and The New York Times are reporting correctly. The videos and images match the text. 

So thank you, print and online media, for your tireless work in these times of trouble. We are not saved, but there is grace.