US Ambassador D Brent Hardt says while there has always been intense political rivalry in his country, leaders have managed to set aside differences in the national interest.
He was speaking at a luncheon he hosted on Monday for government and other stakeholders to share in the historic second inauguration of President Barack Obama.
As he welcomed guests to the viewing of Obama’s inauguration address at his residence, the ambassador observed that “the inauguration of a president after a hard-fought electoral contest reflects the strength and health of a democracy.” The US presidential inauguration “embodies a strong bipartisan tradition, as even the most heated partisan political debates are set aside to honor the peaceful transition of power”, he said, according to a press release from the US Embassy.
Hardt noted that while the US has always faced intense political rivalries and often sharp disagreements, “what is more striking than the strength and persistence of division has been the remarkable ability of our country’s leaders to transcend their fears and forge compromises in the national interest.” The inauguration of a president traditionally offers American presidents an opportunity to “reach out across those differences and identify the national interests that supersede the partisan,” he added.
Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, Minister of Foreign Affairs Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, other ministers, representatives from Parliament and political parties, the private sector, civil society and the diplomatic corps joined the celebration. Hinds extended felicitations to President Obama on his inauguration for a second term and affirmed Guyana’s desire to continue building closer ties with the US.
According to the release, Obama’s Oath of Office marked the 57th time that a US president has been sworn in for a four-year term since 1789 when George Washington first took the same oath. The theme of the inauguration ceremony was “faith in America’s future which commemorates the US’s spirit of perseverance and unity, the release said. The January 21 ceremony was held on the national holiday devoted to the civil rights visionary Dr Martin Luther King.
The ambassador noted that “the intersection of President Obama’s inauguration and Reverend King’s holiday carries sweet symbolism” because when Obama stood at the capitol, he faced the Lincoln Monument, where Dr King stood half a century ago “to call his fellow Americans to share in his dream of nation living up to its founding creed of equality.”
In his inaugural address, The US president assured Americans that their country “will remain the anchor of strong alliances in every corner of the globe.” Outlining his vision for US engagement with the world, Obama concluded: “We will support democracy from Asia to Africa, from the Americas to the Middle East, because out interests and our conscience compel us to act on behalf of those who long for freedom. And we must be a source of hope to the poor, the sick, the marginalised, the victims of prejudice – not out of mere charity, but because peace in our time requires the constant advance of those principles that our common creed describes: tolerance and opportunity, human dignity, and justice.”
