Biden is a humanist; he genuinely believes in the “goodness” of humanity. Ever since he announced his candidacy for the Presidency, with his explicit call for the “Battle for the Soul of this nation,” it is evident that Biden believed in our inner angels and appealed to them in earnest.
What we saw during the inauguration speech yesterday was perhaps the most ardent display of a humanist president possible. He called for Unity.
To overcome these challenges — to restore the soul and to secure the future of America — requires more than words. It requires that most elusive of things in a democracy: Unity. Unity.
With unity we can do great things. Important things. We can right wrongs. We can put people to work in good jobs. We can teach our children in safe schools. We can overcome this deadly virus. We can reward work, rebuild the middle class and make health care secure for all. We can deliver racial justice.
We can make America, once again, the leading force for good in the world. I know speaking of unity can sound to some like a foolish fantasy. I know the forces that divide us are deep and they are real. But I also know they are not new. Our history has been a constant struggle between the American ideal that we are all created equal and the harsh, ugly reality that racism, nativism, fear and demonization have long torn us apart. The battle is perennial. Victory is never assured.
In a weird moment of self-introspection, Biden calls this obsession with Unity a foolish fantasy.
For without unity, there is no peace, only bitterness and fury. No progress, only exhausting outrage. No nation, only a state of chaos. This is our historic moment of crisis and challenge, and unity is the path forward. And, we must meet this moment as the United States of America. If we do that, I guarantee you, we will not fail.
Here, Biden sums up Unity’s power and how it can rise our nation out of this inertia, outrage, and chaos.
I heard the speech intently and tried to walk in Biden’s shoes. He had so many urgent policy matters to discuss, strategies to unveil, priorities to resolve, scores to settle - but he chose a message of Unity as the overarching theme of his inaugural speech. His humanist philosophy of believing in our better angels will define his Presidency. I am a humanist myself, and I could not see why such a message of hope, unity, and love would not resonate across the nation.
I wanted to lead by example and start by understanding the ‘other side’. So, I decided to spend some time watching nightly coverage on Fox News. I switched to Laura Ingraham, and I felt like I was an alternate universe altogether. Laura discussed ‘Left-wing Insurrectionists’ attacking Portland and Seattle, making fun of the concerts on zoom, criticizing Biden for taking divisive actions (according to Laura) talking about unity and the like.
It takes no more than spending 5 minutes on Fox News Network to see how Biden might not get the resounding support he hopes to receive from the ‘other side’. How can we unify the nation if there is a considerable part of the country feeding on an alternate version of the universe? And the system that’s providing them this disinformation relies on this mechanism to exist in this universe?
Imagine a channel dedicated to proving Big Foot’s existence and spending all its time looking for “clues” to support its claims. They will cherry-pick ‘facts’ that support their hypothesis and ignore all ‘distortions’ that do not support their theory. This channel’s consumers want to believe in Big Foot’s existence, so they subscribe to this channel and ignore all other communication as ‘fake news’. The channel depends on Big Foot believers’ existence, so they cannot risk alienating them by telling them the truth. Thus alienated from the rational society, the Big Foot believers, watch the Big Foot channel “religiously”, as this is the only group that accepts them and their obsession with Big Foot. Unfortunately, the vicious cycle of lies continues and never ends — as the predator (aka Big Foot News) relies on the victims (aka Big Foot Cult), and the victim relies on the predator.
This brings us back to the inaugural speech and Biden’s call for Unity. How do we unite a group of our fellow citizens who refuse to accept any ‘facts’ that do not comply with their prejudiced opinions about the world at large? How can we inform this group (which includes our parents, aunts, uncles, neighbors, friends, and grandparents) when they are held hostage by the disinformation machines of Fox News, OAN, NewsMax, and the like?
If Biden truly wants to unite the nation, he needs to take concrete action on this country’s disinformation machinery. We need to separate facts from fiction and truth from opinion. Without that, I am afraid we will lose the Battle for the Soul of our nation.
Quoting Biden on why Unity is important and worth fighting for.
For without unity, there is no peace, only bitterness and fury. No progress, only exhausting outrage. No nation, only a state of chaos. This is our historic moment of crisis and challenge, and unity is the path forward. And, we must meet this moment as the United States of America. If we do that, I guarantee you, we will not fail.