Jan 21, 2009

Most of my day yesterday revolved around the Presidential Inauguration. From about 9am until 3pm my eyes were nearly glued to the t.v. for obvious reasons. The entire day was intriguing to me for a few reasons, not too mention the main objective of witnessing history. The first interesting moment was when now former President George W Bush and his wife Linda, met President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle at the front steps of the Whitehouse for coffee. It was truly a changing of the guard moment, from a past and present of turmoil and dispair to a future of proposed hope and change. Even the physical interaction between them represented this to me. There was a moment of pause when they met on the steps, one waiting for the other to throw out the first hand for a shake in a case of 'who should be in charge of conducting this action?' After a second or two of akward pause and limited action, the two simultansously moved toward eachother and extended a hug rather than just a handshake.

I don't want to give my play by play on all of the events in the ceremony so I'll move right on to my opinion of the 44th American President Barack Obama's Inaugural Address. (I want to preface this by saying that I did not vote for Obama last November, nor did I buy into much of what he was campaigning throughout the year.) First of all there is absolutely no debating President Obama's skills as an orator, he is very well spoken and is poise and confidence amazes me. This was certainly a skill that this country needed to see executed on such a monumental day for our country. Not merely because he is the first African American President (by all means that is an amazing feat but to me, growing up without ever being racist or subjected to those who are) but because of the peril our country is facing, especially in regards to our economy and the war, and how these things affect the ENTIRE WORLD. It is not conceited to admit that when something goes wrong in the United States, it will most certainly affect the rest of the world and that is very evident right now. Back to President Obama's speech though, I was thuroughly impressed with what he said. It was motivational and uplifting and whether or not these changes can be made instantly, it is necessary to light a fire under the ass of our American citizens as the actions that need to be taken need to be taken in a collective effort. Just because Obama was elected does not mean that everything will automatically be better. I can only hope that he fulfills his end of the claims he makes, but it is also up to us as Americans to do our part in bringing this country back to where it needs to be and contributing what we can to take these necessary measures. If nothing else, I hope that after yesterday the morale of this country was lifted and that we see the severity of the situation we have created for ourselves. Just as we have bound together in the past, it is necessary for our country to act as one again and bring back the important foundation we were built upon for the sake of our future generations.

Needless to say I was inspired by Barack and his genuine attitude towards the United States. You feel his compassion when he speaks and it is easy to see that he not only cares about seeing a change but he truly believes in what he stands for. Or should I say, what we stand for as the United States of America. I am now a believer of President Barack Obama and I pray that he has the strength to fulfill and complete the necessary tasks at hand. God Bless America, we are surely lucky to live in such a free country. Now lets not take advantage of that and let it fall to hell.