Week two of the Biden presidency and it still feels surreal. Every time I see a broadcast or report on ‘President’ Joe Biden, I remind myself that yes, he’s indeed the new President. I wonder if he too pinches himself on occasion. I was thinking about how sometimes we get the leaders we deserve but then other times, we don’t. If you still can’t fathom how we went from Barack Obama to the last four years, you’re not the only one and the sad thing is that there’s no guarantee we won’t ever return to that chapter.
The King of Pop asked us to ‘heal the world and make it a better place for the entire human race’, yet here we are still talking about race relations and all the rights minorities are still denied. Well, you can always count on change, except maybe our neighbours up North but for now, we celebrate the change of guard in the US. Things are starting to look and feel better already for America and indeed the world, for whilst crises abound, it’s a new dawn without The Don. America chose restoration over segregation.
The America first narrative? Nah. It was him, his family and friends first. Remember those walls he built? Well baby they’re tumbling down like Beyoncé sang. He’s been the perfect example of what a good leader shouldn’t be, do or say. If actions speak louder than words, his actions, inaction and words all spoke too loudly too often. It wasn’t just what he said but how he said it. All the norms he broke and values he trampled, Biden is fixing. Where he sowed division, Biden’s sowing diversity and inclusion. We so badly wanted the last four years to end. Now our every hope is pinned on the next four. Okay, say hello to this poet. I wish! Amanda Gorman did a much better job with her ‘The Hill We Climb’ poem. Go read it if you haven’t already.
I could use her confidence. Can’t believe she’s only 22. Her support system must be incredibly proud because she sure is taking life in the spotlight in her stride. I love that Oprah ‘blinged’ her up for the occasion and for anyone who didn’t know, she mentioned that the earrings and ring she wore to Biden’s inauguration were basically borrowed from Oprah’s jewellery box. Did I say box? I think Oprah’s jewellery has its OWN room or house! She should record an episode just showing off some of her iconic pieces.
What I wouldn’t give to have that kind of relationship with Oprah though, where you can just head over to her house and borrow some clothes, shoes, wigs, some cash... I wonder if Miss Gorman has returned the pieces already. If I borrowed anything from Oprah, I wouldn’t return it in the hopes that she’d forget about it! I probably just ruined any chance of ever getting anywhere close to her house!