
Unity, civility are hard asks in a deeply divided America
President Biden used his inaugural speech to urge American to unite to fight COVID-19 and other challenges.
Getty Images
The theme of Joe Biden’s inaugural address was that we must bring America together as a prerequisite to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic, revive the economy, confront climate change, move toward racial justice and accomplish so many other big things.
“This is our historic moment of crisis and challenge,” said Biden. “And unity is the path forward.”
Unity is a calming notion, especially after a rabid mob of thousands stormed the Capitol, and as millions more subscribe to the notions that the election was stolen, that the news media is made up of enemies of the people and that we’re effectively many different nations along geographic, racial, ideological and demographic lines.
But what does it really mean, and where does this idea come from that we need it in order to

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Latest coronavirus updates for San Antonio and Texas, January 21
Facts not fear: We’re tracking the latest numbers from the coronavirus pandemic in San Antonio and across Texas.
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- Bexar County: On Thursday, 2,507 new cases were reported, bringing the total number of cases to 155,588. Seventeen new deaths were also reported, raising the local death toll to 1,857.
- Hays County: On Thursday, officials reported 218 new cases in the county and three additional COVID-related fatalities. As of Thursday, there are a total of 13,900 lab-confirmed local cases, while the death toll rose to 171. Officials estimate 11,065 residents have recovered, while 2,664 are still ill with the virus.
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