Tuesday, January 20, 2009

He's In!!

Two things come to mind -- thank God we made it through this critical moment of history; He's in and Alive! (And, Bush is gone! )
Yes, I began crying around 8:30 am (MST) and didn't really stop until Aretha sang. That was not a shining moment (IMHO.) Over the weekend I recorded Ray Charles singing "America the Beautiful" during the Obama train trip to Washington. I sobbed like a baby. Aretha just made me grit my teeth. And, even tho ultimately the Quartet was lively, it sounded funereal at first (and depressing.) I found several things odd: the poem was odd, even parts of Obama's speech were odd. I guess expectations were SO high...

But, here he comes to the luncheon with the Flourish "Hail to the Chief", being introduced as the President of the United States and that makes me cry again!!

I have my own DVD of the day. I channel-surfed lots of viewpoints and angles. The crowd of millions was so awesome, the sights and spectacle breath-taking. And, there's more to come. The parade, the commentary, the reality of it all. One thing that really struck me during the ceremonies was the idea that racism is far from over in the US. My own cousins continue to send horrible, offensive emails to me. Young black men will continue to be thrown to the ground and shot, just as one was two weeks ago. Bigotry, hate, resentment and fear are not easily dissolved. But, with a multi-racial President holding the highest office, surely tolerance will be more prevalent and discrimination dissipated. Today we have hope! Yes, "hope over fear" -- finally!

4 comments:

ZenWoman said...

I wrote that in "real time" just after Obama was sworn in. I realized the last time I felt so happy was 16 yrs ago (1992) when we were singing at the Clinton's first inauguration. In 2001 it was impossible to believe the election had been STOLEN from Al Gore. I couldn't even bear to watch that tragic inauguration. Politically, I've been miserable since. AND, it was exactly 9 months into the Bush League when the US was attacked (9.11.01) I will always believe it was a reaction to the abhorent foreign relations.
OK, your turn... how do YOU feel about this historic day?

Anonymous said...

All I can say is Bushwhacked no more! -- mg

ZenWoman said...

Hey, if anyone is crazy like me and wants to SEE all the Presidents, including the new guy, here's the list. Just scroll down a bit;

Presidents

mo said...

here's a more fun list of the presidents:
Morphing the Presidents

enjoy ;)