Hard not to be inspired by the drama of the inauguration

I wasn’t really surprised by how smoothly the inauguration of President Joe Biden went on Wednesday of last week – facilitated by massive security of course!

My positive and optimistic side was drawn towards inspiration as I watched the RTÉ News Special (RTÉ One). Amanda Gorman, the young poet laureate, delivered an inspiring poem The Hill We Climb – it was delivered with grace, drew in a Scripture reference and spoke of mercy, which has been in short supply. The invocation by Fr Leo O’Donovan SJ, a Biden family friend, was likewise inspiring and seemed to be well received by those present, including Republicans Mike Pence and George Bush, but not Donald Trump whose absence came across as ungracious. It was hard not to be moved too see President Biden and his entourage attending a religious service earlier, and yet if Mr Trump had done that it might have been dismissed as a cynical photo opportunity.

My own cynical side was uneasy, all the more so with the National Public Radio (NPR) report a few days later about the Biden administration preparing to undo Mr Trump’s anti-abortion measures. Most of the media will give him a free pass on this one, if they’re not positively cheering him on. If true healing of division was on the agenda perhaps a more measured response was in order rather than a flurry of executive orders to undo a host of Trump initiatives.

Inauguration

The inauguration of Mr Biden was the starting point for The Big Questions, back on BBC One on Sunday mornings, with presenter Nicky Campbell deftly handling the new Covid-restricted environment – a few socially distanced studio guests with two other guests and a virtual audience tuning in remotely. It works. After a healthy and diverse debate about Covid-19 lockdown the week before, last Sunday’s edition used the change of the guard in the USA as a prompt to explore social media in the light of Mr Trump’s constant use of those platforms.

It was one of the best discussions of the topic I’ve come across. Comedian and author Andrew Doyle was concerned about intrusions onto free speech and thought the best way to counteract the extreme stuff was to have better arguments. He was “terrified” of the power of the huge social media companies which saw them kicking a sitting US president off their platforms. He wondered who gets to decide what’s ‘fake news’. Nicky Morgan, baroness and former Conservative MP wondered who holds the companies to account. She had received abuse and death threats and feared such online abuse would put people off going into public life. Imran Ahmed of the Centre for Countering Digital Hate was concerned about how, on social media, “misinformation is seamlessly integrated into information” and thought there should be consequences for “malignant activity”.

Revive

The second half of the show asked ‘Will Covid Revive Faith?’ Some saw a huge interest in online religion as a hopeful sign, others weren’t so sure. Rev. Dr Susan Salt, an Anglican deacon, thought lockdown gave people a chance to pause and reflect on what was important and she was impressed by the acts of kindness she saw in hospitals where she worked. She found people more open to religious conversations, and to the reality of death. Prof. Francis Davis from the University of Birmingham thought there was a danger of “over self-dramatising” prospects of great renewal. Rev. David Walker, Church of England Bishop of Manchester, was encouraged by the involvement of large numbers in online religious services and also found religious faith a great motivation for people to get involved in tough voluntary work.

The start of the Biden era was also the starting point for last Sunday morning’s Sunday Sequence (BBC Radio Ulster). Presenter Audrey Carville assured us the new president was a “committed Catholic” and a man of “deep faith”. I think it would be better if she left such judgements to her guests. Her only guest on the topic was journalist Marian McKeown of The Business Post, who at least has conservative commentator Cal Thomas as a foil when they spar regularly on The Last Word (Today FM). She thought Mr Biden was “a very authentic man”, with “decent human impulses”. There was no one to cast a more critical eye, though Ms Carville did reference criticism, on inauguration day, of Mr Biden’s abortion stance by some Catholic bishops, including what she referred to as “the one from Los Angeles”. She could have checked his name!

PICK OF THE WEEK

Songs of Praise

BBC One Sunday January 31, 1.15pm

Mark De-Lisser hosts the semi-final of the brand new competition to find the Gospel Singer of the Year 2021.

Bakhita Part One

EWTN Sunday January 31, 9pm

The dramatic life of Josephine Bakhita, Sudanese-born slave who converted to the Catholic Faith and became a sister in the Canossian Daughters of Charity. She was canonised by St John Paul II.