Over Thanksgiving break, I got the opportunity to go see an interview with former Vice President Joe Biden at the Miami Book Fair. He has been touring to promote his soon-to-be-released book "Promise Me, Dad"that talks about his son, Beau Biden, and his journey with brain cancer. Joe Biden is one of the most inspiring public figures today. Life has thrown him so many curve balls, and he has worn so many important hats. Yet he does so with grace, joy, and honesty.

The interview started with questions about VP Biden’s family life, about him growing up and about him watching his children grow up as well. He spoke of his parents’ methods of instruction and how they always taught him to be joyful and thankful for what he had around him. He told of the rule that his parents had set for him as a child that he and his siblings were never allowed to judge someone for something that they could not change. This has resonated with him to this day, and it resonated with me as well. Imagine how different the world would be, how much less pain there would be, if people refused to comment negatively on things that were outside a person’s control. This could go for the color of someone’s skin, to a mental or physical disability, to gender, to accents. Instead of showing ridicule, we could show love and acceptance. What a difference that would make!

VP Biden is a model of humility that we as a society should strive to match. He does not feel owed anything by anyone for the things that he has been through. When asked about his second wife, Dr. Jill Biden, he was not bitter about the tragic death of his first wife, he was not pompous saying he deserved to have been married again. He instead commented how no man deserved to have one great love in his life, yet he has been blessed with two great loves in his life. The idea of looking for the positive spin in a dark situation, the idea of not feeling like the world owes you something just because it took something else away is such a brave one. It does not leave room for senseless pride or arrogance.

About halfway through the interview, the interviewer moved the flow of the conversation, unsurprisingly, towards politics. During this segment, Biden commented about how he was the “poorest man in Congress." He told the story of how, when he was just getting his political career started, at the young age of twenty-nine, he made a promise in one of his speeches to never own any sort of stock while he was in a public office. And he has stuck to that for the past forty-six years, showing great integrity and honesty. The fact that he stands for something like this, and that he has stuck to it for so many years is truly inspiring.

During the talk about politics, VP Biden began to get heated. So heated that he even got out of his seat on stage so that he could start pacing around while speaking. He was talking about America, the country that he is so passionate about that he gave his life career to serve it. And that passion shone through in his words. He addressed the presidential situation that we have found ourselves in and he was distressed by the feeling of hopelessness that has been running around lately. He asked that instead of dismay and disbelief, we take action and have hope instead. He asked that we speak out against the injustices that we disagree with, stating that to be silent is to be complicit. He wanted to remind us that we still live in such a great and strong country. He asked that instead of trying to make our country show power and prestige, that we show hard work and dedication and acceptance. He asked that we strive to lead “not by the example of our power but by the power of our example.” He asked that we remember how lucky we are to live here, and how many people in the world would gladly trade places with us if given the opportunity to.

This week, I ask that we reflect on some of these thoughts from VP Biden. That, though things are strained and seem hopeless right now under our current president and his administration, we do not lose hope. That we do not stop fighting for equality and justice. I ask that we take into consideration the example set before us by Joe Biden and his respectful ways, and that we take that with us into the future years as we work to get this country to be one we can all be equally proud of.