Opinion

In his final full day in office, President Donald Trump refrained from the most outrageous possible abuses of the pardon power. Perhaps wary of causing political backlash, given his impending Senate impeachment trial, Trump has not pardoned himself, his children or his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani.

For the past several years I have served as a pastor in Trump country. I have listened to the public and private fears, hopes and stories of those who feel unheard, ignored and scorned by America's elites in both political parties. While living in predominately White upstate New York and Western Pennsylvania, I commuted regularly to Atlanta, home of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and an influential Back middle class, that is reshaping "the blackest city in America," as "Saturday Night Live" comedian Michael Che calls it. As senior pastor of the historic Chautauqua Institution and as former president of Morehouse College, I have been able to feel the pulse of these two Americas side by side. Let me share some of the home remedies I have tried and tested in recent years. Just in case it may help my neighbors -- all of them.

David Axelrod writes that Joe Biden's decision to invite the four top congressional leaders, including Senator Mitch McConnell, to join him at a church service before Wednesday's Inauguration is noteworthy and revealing. After making unity the mantra of his campaign and transition, Biden thoroughly understands the symbolic value of his invitation. to McConnell and the other leaders. In a post-Trump era, it marks a small but valuable rite of civility that should not be lost on a country riven by division."

The President who tweets is now gone from Twitter. Whether they followed @realDonaldTrump or not, Americans are now facing a jarring readjustment -- on top of what is otherwise already a moment of national crisis (or several). To know that daily life is now no longer subject to the sudden insults, dire policy pronouncements or signal-boosting of conspiracy theories that made up the soon to be former President's feed is, for many, a comfort. But the suspension of @realDonaldTrump doesn't erase the meaning or power exerted by the last four years of his tweets.

Someone once asked me why I watched so much network news when I was growing up. I replied that it was the early 1960s -- I had to keep watching because I was afraid I'd miss something if I didn't.