Travelling has become somewhat difficult as travellers need a test result that must not be older than 48 hours and which will be checked upon entering a different country. Or maybe not.
An Afternoon in Paris
In History on March 29, 2021 at 17:37Hopes and Dreams
In History on January 21, 2021 at 15:30Without being an expert, the inauguration of a new president is always a sign of what is to come. Four years ago, it was the fist of Trump, in 2021 it is none other than the Boss restoring some hope.
A raised fist was once a sign of solidarity. It first came to global prominence during the Mexico Olympics in 1968 when Tommy Smith and John Carlos stood on the rostrum raising their black gloves hands in protest against the discrimination against people of colour, specifically the Afro-American population of the US. The Black Power salute on this stage saw both athletes banned from the US team and sent home. Trump’s use of it devalued their protest.
It was quite a remarkable difference when Bruce Springsteen made his already second appearance at an inauguration; his first came in 2009 for Barack Obama’s ceremony. Back then it was a rendition of This Land is your land with Pete Seeger. Twelve years later he sang one of his own songs, Land of Hope and Dreams.
Springsteen sings:
You’ll need a good companion
For this part of the ride
Leave behind your sorrows
Let this day be the last
Tomorrow there’ll be sunshine
And all this darkness past
With this he expresses his wish for a better future – something he has done ever since he became a musician in the late 1960s. It is an image of a better tomorrow which many – not only in America – hope will come with Joe Biden as president. There is little hope however that Biden will be the one to bring about change but his term in office can set the wheels in motion. The inauguration of 2021 is a return to typical American pathos but it we have rather have that than a fist bumping narcissist and nihilist.
