“In America, politicians don’t take power — the people grant it to them. The flame of democracy was lit in this nation a long time ago. And we now know that nothing, not even a pandemic — or an abuse of power — can extinguish that flame.” – Joe Biden
By Siva Sivapragasam
After the official confirmation of his election victory by the Electoral College, Joe Biden is all set to become the 46th US President on January 20th along with Kamala Harris of Tamil origin as Vice-President.
The inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States will mark the commencement of the four-year term of Joe Biden as President and Kamala Harris as Vice President.The ceremony will be held at the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.
The event will be the 59th presidential inauguration. Biden will take the oath of office as President on that day, and Harris will take the oath of office as Vice President. The festivities of the inauguration are taking place during the COVID-19 pandemicand will be limited to prevent the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19.
Biden’s victory was the culmination of four years of struggle for Democrats and others who have resistedthe current President Donald Trump’s regime. Biden’s victory was celebrated by an emotional outpouring coast to coast that ended with a victory party in Biden’s hometown of Wilmington, Del. The election took four days to be resolved after the former vice president was projected to win a series of battleground statesand was clinched by the state where he was born, Pennsylvania.
Kamala Harris will be the first South Asian American of Tamil descent and first female Vice President in history. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered “heartiest congratulations” to Harris, whose mother immigrated to the United States from India, for inspiring “immense pride” for Indian Americans. It is also a notable coincidence that her Domestic Policy Advisor RohiniKosoglu is also a South Asian of Tamil origin from Sri Lanka.
Biden and Harris have a heavy burden to unite a divided nation of the recent past.The new President Joe Biden is already ready for that when he stated recently “Unite and Heal. I have long talked about the battle for the soul of America. We must restore the soul of America.”
(Picture Credit: Time Magazine)
