The Atlantic
A Sermon in America’s Civic Religion
The past four years made the usual bromides in Biden’s inaugural address sound newly fresh and relevant.
January 20, 2021
Jim Bourg / Reuters
Midway through Joe Biden’s first speech as president today, he said something that, in any other inaugural address, would have seemed so unobjectionable as to be pointless.
“What are the common objects we as Americans love, that define us as Americans?” Biden said. “I think we know. Opportunity, security, liberty, dignity, respect, honor, and, yes, the truth.”
In 2021, however, that wasn’t just a throwaway line: It drew an ovation from the limited crowd at the event.
Dubbed Blauwe Loper which translates to Blue Carpet the $6.5-million bridge is 800 meters long and connects the Dutch town of Winschoten with Blauwestad park and recreational area. It is being constructed using the tropical wood Gabonese azobé.
The bridge also features special lighting to prevent nocturnal creatures from getting lost. “Bats have been shown to use infrastructure features, such as bridges, as guide points from one site to another, and while they navigate by echo location, they are also very sensitive to bright lights, which can disorient them,” Fleur Gräper, Groningen regional deputy,
tells Timber Trades Journal. “So special lighting has been installed on the Blauwe Loper with a different color to standard street illumination and to cast a different light and shadows on the bridge so bats are not dazzled and confused.”