He then laid out a series of proposals for not only addressing the pandemic going forward, but also other efforts of the government. I wasn't pleased to hear him back some very pointed partisan remarks even as he accused those with different views from his own of not taking any meaningful steps to resolve the issues at stake.
He ended his speech on what I felt was a touching, uplifting note. He referred back to a press conference he gave in March of last year, when he acknowledged the pain he felt in stating that the pandemic would affect people's lives, which played out within a few short days. In this speech, he confidently asserted that we would emerge out of this pandemic, which is a good sentiment to share at this time, but one I wish he had made a little more upfront when the limitations were more stringent. He furthermore stated that we haven't forgotten how to hug each other and offer other meaningful gestures.
Customarily, a new US president gives a speech before a joint session of Congress not long after the inauguration, and President Biden did so on the evening of April 28. He laid out several proposals, especially for combating the current pandemic. It's notable that he extolled the success of the vaccinations, while not even acknowledging the efforts of President Trump to make the vaccine available. One commentator I heard said that as a president who pledged to unite Americans and dialogue with those who didn't vote for him, this was a missed opportunity to reach out. I also felt some of his policy proposals were misguided, like when he discussed the Equality Act, telling transgender Americans he has their back. Yet he ignored the ramifications of the Equality Act that will negatively impact other Americans, including female athletes forced to compete against male athletes claiming to be female, and female survivors of domestic abuse facing a compromised situation in shelters where males claiming to be female will take shelter.
When the speech ended, I puzzled by the final words, when he said "God bless the troops". It's a magnanimous remark to make, but it seemed narrow and incomplete without saying, as is typical, "God bless America". Furthermore, I was left scratching my head when he said, "Thank you for your patience." I couldn't understand why he would say something like that, unless it was to acknowledge that his tone was geared to make people fall asleep.
Following his speech was the Republican response from Senator Tim Scott, and I was greatly impressed by what he had to say. I feel he effectively noted the flaws in President Biden's proposals to keep spending without directing it in meaningful ways. When it came to discussing racism, I feel he hit the mark by noting how the efforts of those on the sociopolitical left are not healing the wounds of racism, but only making them worse. He probably could have been more effective when addressing critical race theory by saying America is not an inherently racist country, rather than saying it is not a racist country. There are absolutely many instances through US history of people exhibiting racist behaviors, but he's right to indicate how unhelpful it is to promote an ideology that says America as a country has been irredeemably racist from the beginning, woven into our very fibers. He ended his remarks so well by saying that sin isn't the end of our story, but the power of grace to redeem is. That sentiment is something that will heal us and motivate us to take the steps to build a better country.
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