Opinion: The State of our Union is being tested
It's going to take all of us to navigate these challenges
Facing mounting crises at home and abroad, President Joe Biden stood before a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night to deliver his first State of the Union address.
The President believes that the state of the union is strong because the American people are strong.
The response to the his speech was no surprise: Democrats gushed over the address while Republicans say he missed the mark.
Now I want to take some time to share my thoughts on the state of the union.
It goes without saying that the last several years have not been easy for America. We have all been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in one way or another — whether we have tested positive or have lost friends or loved ones to the disease.
As we emerge from the darkest days of the pandemic, we are now having to grapple with higher prices at grocery stores and at the gas pump. Inflation has reached a 40-year high with no signs of slowing down any time soon. American families are having to make difficult decisions on how to ration their paychecks.
The future of our democracy is also teetering on a knife’s edge. Since the 2020 presidential election, state legislatures across the country have proposed new voting restrictions and passed gerrymandered political boundaries. And I don’t need to remind you of the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, when supporters of former President Donald Trump attempted to stop Congress from fulfilling its constitutional duty: certifying the results of the presidential election.
Democracy is not only under attack here at home, but around world. Russian President Vladimir Putin is now waging an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. We proudly stand with our Ukrainian allies. Putin is a thug and you can rest assured that Russia will face the consequences of his reckless behavior.
While things may seem dark right now, I am optimistic for several reasons.
As we know, President Biden recently nominated Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to sit on the United States Supreme Court. Judge Jackson is an exceptionally qualified jurist and her confirmation will be the first big step in making sure that our judiciary looks more like the country that it serves.
We also seem to be making some progress in the fight for racial justice. We all watched in horror as unarmed Black men like Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd were wrongfully killed by white men who thought that they could take the law into their own hands.
For most Black activists, these types of crimes always end with the acquittal of the suspect. But these two particular instances seem to have led to some kind of reckoning: all of the suspects in these cases have been convicted. Arbery’s home state of Georgia has also passed hate crimes legislation.
Let’s be honest: both of these men should still be alive today, and no amount of justice will change the fact that they are no longer with us. But time and time again, we’ve seen these stories end with no punishment for the perpetrators. These convictions are a small step towards progress in repairing the racial disparities in our criminal justice system.
Lastly, I do not believe that these new election restrictions are going to deter people from voting. In fact, I think it will lead to the exact opposite: one of the best ways to get someone to vote is if you make it harder for them to vote. I can guarantee you that most voters will stop at nothing until their ballot is cast and counted. After all, we stand on the backs of leaders who were jailed, beaten and even killed for trying to cast their vote. We owe it to them to make sure that everyone can equally participate in our political process.
I think we can all agree that the state of our union is being tested, both here at home and abroad.
From public health, to the right to vote, rising prices and vicious dictators, some might say that recent developments have left us with little reason to be optimistic.
But I do believe that we have a lot to be proud of. President Biden’s nomination of Judge Jackson is set to reshape the diversity our judiciary for generations to come. We are seeing some progress in the fight for racial justice, and the western world is united against Putin’s brutal assault on democratic values.
No matter what you thought of the President’s address, it’s going to take all of us working together to navigate these challenges. Instead of finger pointing and name-calling, we need to take a step back and remember that we all live in the same country.
These challenges are impacting each and every one of us, so let’s not navigate them as Democrats or Republicans. Let’s navigate them as Americans.
Well stated! I totally agree, Niles!
Interesting and well written