Finding inspiration

So true. The inauguration team certainly knew how to present some high-value inspiration. The topper, of course, was the young Gorman, an immediate sensation who will also be reading this weekend at the Super Bowl. Let that sink in. Football and poetry.

This column is not intended to be a review of the inauguration, as that is already well-traveled terrain. Neither is it intended to describe the differences between the administrations.

It is to describe our need as a people for inspiration. Even the most ardent fans of the previous president would express a certain amount of fatigue. Add in an arduous and cruel pandemic and all its perils and we have a nation both sick and tired and needing relief. That, and needing inspiration.

So we were immediately drawn when Gorman spoke her words. This is what we were seeking, right? Yes. Her words resonated but wane in our day-to-day lives. But it sure set a mood didn’t it? We shouldn’t forget that.

In seeking further inspiration, I might suggest finding it in small places and nearby. It is in our own resilience and compassion. How we can move ourselves to be more understanding even in our own frustration. Inspiration can be found in those who are making the extra effort to ensure the comfort of others, to make changes to routines so that services can be provided and we can move on with our lives. So many in these times have been challenged in myriad ways, and yet so many have risen to the occasion. There are essential workers of every stripe whether they be grocery workers, pharmacists, nurses, doctors, firefighters, police officers, government workers, delivery drivers, the list goes on. Each and every one of them has made sacrifices and risked illness to do their jobs and ensure that our lives go on as best they can. This is our triumph, and this is where we can find our inspiration.

It is also within each and every one of us. We too have made sacrifices. We wear masks, we social distance, we don’t see our loved ones. This is a difficult and challenging time for all and the ways we stretched beyond our typical comfort is remarkable. This is also our triumph and where we can find our inspiration.

We see the light at the end of the tunnel, and our frustration grows over the length of the pandemic and the toils it has created for us all. Yet we move on, step by step toward a day when we can break free of this virus and return anew to ourselves. Let us hope that we come out of this better, more resilient, more compassionate, more appreciative, better, inspired.

One image from that day also encapsulated our nation’s progress. When U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina on our nation’s high court, swore in our first female, African American and Asian American vice president, Kamala Harris. I look forward to the day when such situations are no longer notable or considered historic, but rather just how it is.

As Gorman said, we have weathered a storm and recognize there is still work to do. We are the ones to do it, step by step, together, inspired by each other and ourselves. For those thinking this road will be perfect, you will see. But we know now we can travel rough roads together and be stronger for it.

About Gorman, it shouldn’t be seen as remarkable that a 22-year-old has her talent. Our nation’s youth hold talent, that in itself is not unique. We watch it all the time in sports and the performing arts. We see it in our own children at times. Perhaps it was because most of us discovered Gorman’s talent at the same time and in the very location where just two weeks prior we witnessed the horror of our Capitol being breached. This dichotomy was as clear as night and day, horror and hope, despair and inspiration. Let us hold on to the latter, for the better.

Jon Mays is the editor in chief of the Daily Journal. He can be reached at jon@smdailyjournal.com. Follow Jon on Twitter @jonmays.