Are we better off one year after President Joe Biden's inauguration?

Good morning, readers:

One year ago today, Joe Biden took the oath of office to become the 46th president of the United States.

The Capitol was still barricaded and under National Guard protection because of the Jan. 6 insurrection.

However, the ceremony went off peacefully, and Biden laid out a grand vision for his agenda. His predecessor, 45th President Donald Trump, did not attend the ceremony.

A year later, Biden achieved getting his trillion-dollar infrastructure proposal passed by Congress, but his Build Back Better budget and two voting rights bills are stalled in the U.S. Senate.

Readers have strong opinions about Biden and his predecessor. This week, we offer their letters to the editor sharing their praise, concerns and criticisms.

"Biden’s recent speech in Georgia about voting laws was so ludicrous and over-the-top that I imagine most Democrats, even those on the far left wing, were cringing," wrote Allen Kennedy.

"(Biden) is not the perfect president, but he is sincere, honest, strives for the common good, and tries to integrate his goals with those of his party," wrote Carol Tures.

Meanwhile, Steve Martin wrote: "The former president is a con man who has convinced his followers that he is the one who matters, not our Constitution, not our democracy, not the values our country has been built and fought for."

Harsh.

Scroll to read their full letters and several more on this topic. And, what grade would you give President Biden up to this point?

Other opinion columns highlighted in this week's newsletter:

• Memphis Commercial Appeal columnist Lynn Norment urges citizens not to be fooled by COVID-19-related scams.

• James Pond, president of the Governor's Early Literacy Foundation, shares his personal story about growing up with a father who was incarcerated and a mother who suffered from addiction, and how a mentor's encouragement to read saved his life. He pays it forward in his essay.

• American Baptist College President Forrest Harris urges leaders to face the truth in reckoning with the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.

• Tennessean columnist Cameron Smith shared his family's personal story of caring for his grandfather who is suffering with dementia. He told me he hopes his story can help others in the same situation.

Send me your ideas, requests, questions and commentary. Thank you for reading.

David Plazas is the director of opinion and engagement for the USA TODAY Network Tennessee. Email him at dplazas@tennessean.com, call him at (615) 259-8063 or tweet to him at @davidplazas.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Are we better off one year after President Joe Biden's inauguration?