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TURNING THOSE FROWNS
UPSIDE DOWN
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I'm going to go out on a limb here. I am hereby announcing that we
have hit rock bottom. The COVID surge and the events of January 6th at the
Capitol dropped us to the proverbial floor.
That's the bad news. The good news is that there is nowhere to
go but up, and we start today with a new administration.
This is not a political column. We've all had enough of those
for now. This is a column that will hopefully encourage all of us, including
me, to get out of our collective funk and start the healing process.
I see a lot of parallels to 1933, when Franklin Delano
Roosevelt became President and changed the course of the United States of
America. The nation was desperate for help. Unemployment was a staggering
25%, 1.2 million people were homeless, and 9000 banks had failed.
Much like today, the country was divided and depressed, with
the usual arguments over big government and small government. Roosevelt won
in a relative landslide, with 22 million votes, but the incumbent, Herbert
Hoover, still managed 15 million votes. There is always dissension.
In his first 100 days, Roosevelt set the standard for
presidential accomplishments. 15 major bills were passed through Congress,
reshaping the economy and banking industry. He established the Civilian
Conservation Corps (CCC) and the Civil Works Administration (CWA), putting
people back to work. And most of all, he gave people hope.
That's what we'll hear today when Joe Biden takes the oath to
become our 46th president. We have hit rock bottom. People are still dying
from COVID, the vaccine rollout has been ridiculously slow, many businesses
are closed or suffering, and offices and downtowns are eerily vacant.
We'll hear him talk about how he's going to fix it all. 100
million doses in 100 days, $1400 checks for all in need, relief for
businesses, plans to combat homelessness and climate change, immigration
reform and much more.
Much of it won't work, but that's okay. It's not his job to be a
miracle worker, it's his job to give us hope and inspire us to move forward
together. And I, for one, am going to believe he can do it.
I'm tired of thinking negative thoughts. I'm tired of bad news.
It's time to move forward. I want to pop my head out of the hole, look
around, and embrace the light at the end of the tunnel. If it's an oncoming
train, so be it. I'll step to the side and let it pass, continuing my trek.
FDR famously said in his inauguration speech, "We have
nothing to fear but fear itself." Joe Biden will have a tough time
saying the same, considering he'll be surrounded by 25,000 National Guard
troops and other unprecedented security.
But times are not that different. FDR escaped an assassination
attempt only 16 days before his inauguration. Six rounds were fired towards
Roosevelt's open touring car by an unemployed bricklayer, shouting,
"Too many people are starving!" Five people were hit, including
the Mayor of Chicago, who died of his wounds. FDR miraculously escaped
unhurt.
Domestic terrorism has always been a threat, and always will
be. But the knuckleheads are far outnumbered by good, decent people on both
sides of the political spectrum. By sheer numbers, there is no question we
shall overcome.
It starts today. As a nation, we will be turning our frowns
upside down. When events take you to the bottom, as they have in the last 12
months, change is a good thing, no matter which direction. Change offers
hope, and that's exactly what we need right now.
I'm feeling positive about where we're going. Joe Biden is no
FDR, but he deserves a chance to turn this country around and unite us all,
or at least most of us. Let's see what he can do in his first 100 days. I'm
betting on good things.
Joe Biden is not John F. Kennedy, either, and JFK gets the last
words, because they are good ones. In his famous inaugural speech, he talked
about his grandiose plans for programs that would reshape the country, much
as Biden will do today.
"All this will not be finished in the first one hundred
days," Kennedy said. "Nor will it be finished in the first one
thousand days, nor in the life of this administration, nor even perhaps in
our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin."
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