Depois da invasão do Capitólio por uma multidão de desordeiros incitados por Donald Trump o mandato foi concluído sem desacatos adicionais, com a excepção das dezenas de indultos do então presidente a um conjunto de colaboradores próximos que ou estavam acusados ou já tinham sido condenados por actos realizados aparentemente para benefício do presidente, se bem que não tenha sido provada a existência de uma ordem presidencial directa.
Parece-me existir aqui um conflito de interesses na concessão destes indultos a colaboradores próximos, é uma espécie de auto-perdão mas, pelo menos, não foi usado um auto-perdão explícito, talvez por a última juíza nomeada para o Supremo Tribunal ter respondido à pergunta se um auto-perdão presidencial seria válido que ninguém nos EUA está acima da lei.
Gostei do discurso de Joe Biden nesta Inauguração (nós diríamos tomada de posse), apelando à unidade do seu país que por ironia outros têm chamado os "Estados Desunidos da América".
Chamou a atenção para o esforço permanente que requer a manutenção da democracia pois na sociedade americana (como noutras, diria eu) existem zonas sombrias que têm que ser contidas. Falou da invasão recente do Capitólio e da importância da verdade. O original pode ser visto e lido aqui.
Destaquei estes 3 parágrafos:
«...
Through the Civil War, the Great Depression, World War, 9/11, through struggle, sacrifice, and setbacks, our "better angels" have always prevailed.
And here we stand, just days after a riotous mob thought they could use violence to silence the will of the people, to stop the work of our democracy, and to drive us from this sacred ground. That did not happen. It will never happen.
Recent weeks and months have taught us a painful lesson. There is truth and there are lies. Lies told for power and for profit. And each of us has a duty and responsibility, as citizens, as Americans, and especially as leaders -- leaders who have pledged to honor our Constitution and protect our nation — to defend the truth and to defeat the lies.
...»
Também se destacou na cerimónia a recitação deste poema da Amanda Gorman, uma americana de 22 anos de idade que podemos ver neste video
com este texto:
The Hill We Climb
When day comes we ask ourselves,
where can we find light in this never-ending shade?
The loss we carry,
a sea we must wade
We've braved the belly of the beast
We've learned that quiet isn't always peace
And the norms and notions
of what just is
Isn’t always just-ice
And yet the dawn is ours
before we knew it
Somehow we do it
Somehow we've weathered and witnessed
a nation that isn’t broken
but simply unfinished
We the successors of a country and a time
Where a skinny Black girl
descended from slaves and raised by a single mother
can dream of becoming president
only to find herself reciting for one
And yes we are far from polished
far from pristine
but that doesn’t mean we are
striving to form a union that is perfect
We are striving to forge a union with purpose
To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and
conditions of man
And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us
but what stands before us
We close the divide because we know, to put our future first,
we must first put our differences aside
We lay down our arms
so we can reach out our arms
to one another
We seek harm to none and harmony for all
Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true:
That even as we grieved, we grew
That even as we hurt, we hoped
That even as we tired, we tried
That we’ll forever be tied together, victorious
Not because we will never again know defeat
but because we will never again sow division
Scripture tells us to envision
that everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree
And no one shall make them afraid
If we’re to live up to our own time
Then victory won’t lie in the blade
But in all the bridges we’ve made
That is the promise to glade
The hill we climb
If only we dare
It's because being American is more than a pride we inherit,
it’s the past we step into
and how we repair it
We’ve seen a force that would shatter our nation
rather than share it
Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy
And this effort very nearly succeeded
But while democracy can be periodically delayed
it can never be permanently defeated
In this truth
in this faith we trust
For while we have our eyes on the future
history has its eyes on us
This is the era of just redemption
We feared at its inception
We did not feel prepared to be the heirs
of such a terrifying hour
but within it we found the power
to author a new chapter
To offer hope and laughter to ourselves
So while once we asked,
how could we possibly prevail over catastrophe?
Now we assert
How could catastrophe possibly prevail over us?
We will not march back to what was
but move to what shall be
A country that is bruised but whole,
benevolent but bold,
fierce and free
We will not be turned around
or interrupted by intimidation
because we know our inaction and inertia
will be the inheritance of the next generation
Our blunders become their burdens
But one thing is certain:
If we merge mercy with might,
and might with right,
then love becomes our legacy
and change our children’s birthright
So let us leave behind a country
better than the one we were left with
Every breath from my bronze-pounded chest,
we will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one
We will rise from the gold-limbed hills of the west,
we will rise from the windswept northeast
where our forefathers first realized revolution
We will rise from the lake-rimmed cities of the midwestern states,
we will rise from the sunbaked south
We will rebuild, reconcile and recover
and every known nook of our nation and
every corner called our country,
our people diverse and beautiful will emerge,
battered and beautiful
When day comes we step out of the shade,
aflame and unafraid
The new dawn blooms as we free it
For there is always light,
if only we’re brave enough to see it
If only we’re brave enough to be it
Gostei também desta entrevista de Anderson Cooper da CNN à poeta,
em que ela revela o seu mantra de preparação de sessões de recitação de poemas:
«
I'm the daughter of black writers
We're descended from freedom fighters
Who broke through chains and changed the world.
They call me.
»
