Why We Must Celebrate
Because we are unable to witness a traditional inauguration, shouldn’t preempt people from celebrating, however that might look. There are some who believe we cannot. However, there are many reasons to be jubilant: an historic turnout of more than 159 million Americans voted, we are inaugurating a brilliant woman of color as Vice President, and the most diverse Administration ever assembled looks more closely like the nation it will serve, to name a few.
Yes, our nasty underbelly has been on display for quite some time. It was made even more evident by the bloody, violent, and deadly attempted coup on January 6 fomented by a delusional, narcissistic leader. The actions by the mostly white and male insurrectionists demonstrated the foregone conclusion that American society still struggles with equality, fairness, and “justice for all.” Indeed, it is still a dream.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. addressed the question of “why equality is so assiduously avoided by white Americans” in his book “Where Do We Go from Here.” He asked the question “why does white America delude itself, and how does it rationalize the evil it retains?” And he characterized this delusion as an overwhelming “struggle with irresolution and comfortable vanity…reaffirming bonds to the status quo…[and] fears that the winds of change are blowing it out to sea.”
What we have endured and witnessed in recent decades and most certainly during the past four years “is an absence of a guiding philosophy” what SGI International President Daisaku Ikeda called in his seminal work “The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra” a ‘Great Interregnum of Philosophy.’ This void of faith in a country’s governing institutions has led to the “worship of money, shallow materialism, and mindless pleasure-seeking across the globe.” It has fueled a retreat into identity politics and extreme nationalism. It is symptomatic of a “vacuum of ideas, a philosophical and ideological void.” In simple words it means to be fundamentally unhappy and lacking in hope.
Why we must celebrate. Millions of volunteers mobilized for the election of our lifetime in GOTV efforts. Working tirelessly, purposefully, and joyfully persuading voters to get to the polls (or return mail-in ballots). And, on November 4, 2020, more than 81 million people made their voices heard electing the incoming 46th Administration.
“Hope puts us in a good working mood. Happiness belongs to those who never despair, no matter what happens.”
Why we must celebrate. We should not allow evil to rob us of the joy and celebration of this historic moment in time. So, on January 20, Americans will show to the world neither failed opposition nor insurrection will stop us from acknowledging and honoring a representative democratic republic that still works. Wearing my pearls and toasting possibilities!
Janet Denise Watkins, President
AAUW Detroit Branch Inc.