At the cusp of a new era, America and the rest of the world patiently anticipate an address that would define what this new beginning would mean. As these onlookers sit, watching the swearing-in of a new President after four tumultuous years, they expect a ray of sunshine, some form of hope that brings the promise of a better world and better lives. President Joe Biden is aware of these expectations and is aware of the critical role the world has placed him in. Biden specifically addresses the common anxieties racking the American public, and to those who do not feel that way, or are simply unaware of the realities, he emphasizes the real gravity of crises such as violent threats to democracy and an unrelenting pandemic through frequent and heavy analogies to culturally relevant historical events and figures, juxtaposition between the American ideal and the clashing reality, and appeal to authority to push patriotism and nationalism. During an address to an anticipating American nation, Joe Biden, a passionately patriotic and hopeful American President strives to unite Americans through a somber, yet urgently inspiring tone to express that the only solution out of this age of disinformation, division, and disease is to unite against it.

Before embarking on his verbal manifesto, Biden indirectly, but fully intentionally, draws a subtle line of comparison between himself and everything that stands for America and its values, especially democracy. He wants to make it known that this victory displays his awareness of the bigger picture. This is a victory, “not of a candidate,” he acknowledges, “but of a cause, the cause of democracy.” By tying a tight knot around himself to the very indisputable pillars of the United States, Biden immediately shortens any gap that there may have been between those Americans who feel that he is not their leader and instead points toward the fact that the nation is the leader of us all. Establishing this form of ethos early on provides a fixed foundation for the many floors of patriotism and nationalism that will be built on top of it. But how can a nation so deeply immersed in mistrust come together at one word?

It is so difficult to understand the true significance of events shared across millions of people when each person has their own emotional, cultural, and socio-economic factors affecting their perspective. In an attempt to bring somewhat of an objective and shared view of a shared situation, Biden draws many parallels between Civil War events and figures to specific problems of this day. Most notably, by calling America’s current divide an “uncivil war.” Biden opens up a squirming can of worms that writhe in every which direction. One slides in the direction of, most obviously, the direct comparison to the current strife in America to The Civil War. But also, he is calling the current conflict, in a quite simple way, uncivil. Both of these interpretations still tie together into a common understanding: that this fight between the people has to stop. Not only does this analogy define the nature of the American situation, but it also defines the role of the President as a uniting figure tasked with rescuing the nation from ruin and collapse. Furthering this analogy, Biden seeks to embody Abraham Lincoln in circumstance, by pointing out the coincidence that Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on a January day. But on “this January Day,” Biden will be the one bringing the nation back to its former glory. In this way, Biden draws a connecting line between himself and Lincoln to symbolize that not only is he tasked with a similar role but that the current times are in need of such a unifying force. Taking advantage of the relevance of 1860s America to the current age, Biden establishes an immediate connection to a feeling of needed consolidation from centuries-old events. 

In a similar, but alternative method to parallel and synonymous comparison, Biden juxtaposes various concepts and events to represent the clashing of American ideals with a contradictory reality to drive the underlying message that if a people come together, the nation will come together. Also, Biden invokes the emotional power of many patriotism-inspiring tidbits of  American spirit in the form of short-hand references to revered words, such as from the Declaration of Independence or the Pledge of Allegiance. At this time, one thing ran heavy in all Americans’ minds: the storming of the Capitol. As spectators look on at the President, they see him standing in grandeur, order, and triumphant American tradition at a dais “on hallowed ground, where...violence sought to shake the Capitol’s very foundation”. The difference is stark, and the horrid memory is still fresh in peoples’ minds. By acknowledging the respected and time-honored sacredness of the land under his feet, and then the horrid atrocities attacking this land in the same sentence, Biden paints an even sharper image of just how much contrast there is between the so-called “two Americas”. But Biden strives to remind Americans that no matter how much they seem separate, they are all identifiable with “we the people, who seek a more perfect union.” Not only is this Declaration of Independence reference an appeal to authority, but it is also a tactic to invoke an emotional connection to defending the nation. America salutes the aforementioned document as almost sacred, therefore leaving little room for contradiction. Simultaneously, as Biden addresses the general dividing discord among Americans, he doesn’t miss this opportunity to bring up “the dream of justice for all.” Almost immediately, listeners think of racial inequality. The appeal to authority is strong and scattered. “Dream” isn’t just an expression of how “justice for all” is a positive, yet unattained vision in Americans’ eyes, but it is also a somewhat hidden reference to the famous “I Have a Dream” speech, given in passion by the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a century after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, as he advocated for Civil Rights and equality in America. However, not so hidden is the carefully chosen excerpt of the Pledge of Allegiance: “justice for all.” These three words from an oration already filled with sentiments represent the American ideals that America holds with such pride, and how they should not just be ideals, but reality. Placing two different versions of America--the perceived and desired one, and the turbulent and divided one-- in such close proximity brings out the contrasting characteristics in both to the point of sparking urgency in solving these issues. 

The current age of America is not a force to be lightly reckoned with, and President Joe Biden thoroughly understands this and accepts that he has to take on a precarious role. Approaching desperate Americans filled with apprehension in an acknowledging, understanding, and optimistic way sets the table for many courses of hard-hitting analogies and juxtapositions, whether they be from the past or dreamt-up future, and the severe abominations to them carried out now. Biden reminds America that the current situation has happened before. Appealing to authority through similar historical events such as the Civil War de-novelizes some aspects of the tension, and therefore reduces the fear of the future encapsulated within this time, and also promotes a tried-and-tested method for overcoming these hardships, as illustrated in the passage of history: uniting. A freshly inaugurated President Joe Biden, filled with enthusiastic, yet responsible leadership and patriotism, influences Americans away from the increasingly forked path they are veering toward. Instead, he guides them toward a solution away from the fanaticism, fabrication of truth, and fatal disease: a solution requiring unity.