“The Bible tells us that ‘to everything there is a season,’” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-9) said President Joe Biden in his inaugural address. Reiterating his campaign theme of ending hatreds and suspending ill-will among citizens, the president continued, “Now, let’s give each other a chance. It’s time to put away the harsh rhetoric. To lower the temperature. To see each other again. To listen to each other again.
“To make progress, we must stop treating opponents as our enemy. We are not enemies. We are Americans,” declared Biden.
This stirring refrain challenging Americans to mend fences echoes a major theme from President Thomas Jefferson’s first inaugural address. Our third president delivered it when deepening political divisions aroused suspicions whether our new-born nation might survive.