A New Day in the USA!

1–20–2021.

Today, the United States inaugurated Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States and swore in Kamala Harris as Vice President. The ceremony went off without a hitch. The speeches, music, and poetry were uplifting and held a promise of hope many of us have not felt for four years; particularly in the last two weeks. Regardless of who we may have voted for, it is time for America to heal and unite. We can celebrate that our constitution held fast and our democracy remains intact.

While recent current events have been unfolding, I’ve been reading a young adult novel called The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani. It is a 2019 Newbery Honor book, told as letters/diary entries written by a young half-Muslim, half-Hindu girl to her deceased mother. She shares her perspective of the events in 1947 when India became independent of British rule and separated into two countries: India and Pakistan. Hindus and Sikhs would occupy the new area designated as India and the Muslims would live in Pakistan. This meant the uprooting of many families, sometimes violently. Many perished in the migration.

When I closed my Kindle last night, I thought about what would happen here if Americans ever split up our country. Can you imagine being uprooted and told you had to move to a different place; just based on the way you voted, your religion, or the color of…