Welcome back United States The fragility of democracy was a recurring theme on a day that heralded a fresh chapter of optimism, reports Lorna Hutchinson. Photo credit: Alamy 25 Jan 2021 On a frosty January day in Washington DC, United States President-elect Joe Biden and his wife Dr Jill Biden emerged onto the podium outside the Capitol building as flakes of snow suddenly appeared from the sky. A building which had witnessed scenes of carnage, devastation, chaos and death just two weeks earlier had managed to transform itself into an arena for hope and solidarity. It was a presidential inauguration like no other, which, despite the traditional pomp and circumstance of the occasion, did not skirt around the two enormous elephants in the room: a global pandemic and an outgoing administration that had left the nation deeply divided. All guests - which included several former US presidents and outgoing Vice-President Mike Pence - were wearing masks and the lectern was disinfected between each speaker; clear signals that from the get-go, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris plan to take the Coronavirus pandemic extremely seriously.