A New Day...Or is it?

If you've know me at all, you know that I am pleased with the inauguration of Joe Biden as POTUS. I was greatly encouraged by his inaugural address that stressed unity more than any other inaugural address in our nation's history. I hope that is the case...but I wonder.

As a left-leaning centrist my voice has been unheard for the past 12 years. In 2009, Senate Minority Leader McConnell vowed to oppose everything the Democrats proposed and to make President Obama a one-term President. He blocked everything that he could and used the Senate filibuster rules to prevent votes on proposed legislation until he became Majority Leader in 2015. Since then, with a Democratic led House of Representatives, he has left hundreds of House passed bills sitting on his desk and never brought them to the Senate for discussion, much less a vote.

Now that the tide has turned and Democrats control (by the slimmest of margins) both chambers of Congress and the White House, I wonder if the President's call for unity and desire to be President to all Americans will really bring us together or if it will just be a case of the other side of the aisle having the ability to shutdown all Republican proposals. Many Democrats have criticized Joe Biden as being too soft, too willing to compromise, to weak to advance their causes. Even if the President truly desires a unified nation (and I believe he genuinely does), is it possible in an evenly split Congress?

I posted this on Facebook while listening to the President's Inaugural Address:

I believe that.
I also believe that there are those that think they know what is best for all without listening to everyone affected by their decisions. What I am uncertain of is whether or not I will become one of those that are unwilling to listen to or act on behalf of those that have differing opinions. I've been on the side of the unheard long enough. But I don't want to become the side that refuses to listen.

I am hopeful.
But true to my character, I am also skeptical.

John