1-20-09

Today is the inauguration of Barack Obama. The players have arrived and the prayer has been spoken. Aretha Franklin sings Let Freedom Ring and I am crying. The pictures of the crowd in Washington are awesome and moving.
This day has been so long in coming and it means so much to so many. Joe Biden is being sworn in. He wears a blue tie and I feel comfort and hope at seeing him. Cheney had to be wheeled in because of a back injury from packing yesterday. He threw out his back. Perhaps he was trying to take all his secret files with him, which I heard this morning that he was ultimately allowed to do.
A beautiful song plays by Itzak Perlman and YoYo Ma and tears come to my eyes again. It is the music of hope and the change that is in the wind. I feel a fresh breath of air and a smile comes to me.
What is this feeling? I watch the little Obama girl dance in her seat at the lilting melody. It is joy and a sense of relief, as the tension and uncertainty fade away. Bush gave us feelings of fear and they have been replaced by feelings of hope.
Then it is here. The swearing in is spoken with a mishap by Chief Justice Roberts and then Obama stumbles over the words and shows his humanity, his enthusiasm and the overwhelming enormity of it all. I wonder that he doesn't want to run screaming the other way.
Humble, mindful and honored he becomes our president. His words reassure - Hope over fear. All are free. He speaks of our history and how we have come to be here. Then he speaks of the things we can and will do to transform our country. He dismisses the critics and talks of restoring the trust of people and their government. He vows to restore the rule of law and declare that we are ready to lead once more. (Bush is shown as he hears the words and understands that what he has wrought will not stand.) America will play its roll in a new era of peace. WE must change with the world. He speaks of the spirit of service and a new era of responsibility. Remember what brought us here, he says and we picture the sharecroppers and the factory workers. Let's carry the gift of freedom forward for future generations. Then, with that thought, our nation begins anew. Tears fell and hearts were healed, lives were fulfilled and deaths were avenged. This was a truly miraculous moment and it was a wonder to see.
Elizabeth Alexander, poet, read Praise Song for the Day. She speaks of the people, ordinary people and how they lived and how they died and what they died for. She speaks of love and how words can change and bring in light.
Dr. Joseph E. Bowery - reads the Benediction - and it is a prayer for the world and the poor, the commitment to work together and choose love, not hate, tolerance over intolerance, and bring fellowship and the oneness of families. And he ends with a witty rainbow of racial rhyming hope and everyone chants AMEN.
I do not stand for The Star Spangled Banner. It glorifies war and I always exercise my right to deny any glory to war. When they sing of love and light, then I shall stand and hold my hand over my heart.
With that, Barack Hussein Obama walks into history as the 44th president of the United States of America. A new day has dawned. This country will never be the same. He shakes Bush's hand on the way out. Bush looks like he will cry and I wonder who he cries for.
Bush deserves our thanks as well, for without his dramatic presidency we would not be here. Bush galvanized this country in such a way that would not have been possible without his guidance. He woke us up and showed us that without paying attention, we as a people can loose our way. Unless we speak up and get involved, others will. WE may not like or want what they seek and it is our duty and destiny to create our own future, for ourselves and our children.
The Bush's finally got on their helicopter and leave their legacy behind. They never embraced Washington and will get to fly over it as they return to Texas. The crowd sings "Na na na na - Goodbye!" Bush can now witness the millions of people that have come out to see him go and the parade route of people that will celebrate today. What a stark contrast to the anger and protests that marked his own inaugurations.
For it is not just a celebration of Obama becoming President, but it is also a celebration of the end of an era. The people have spoken loud and clear. Their will be done and not the will of the neocons and oilmen.
Today is also a personal highlight for my family. My daughter takes her oral exams for her PhD. Program today. She is the first doctor in our family and the only woman besides my sister to hold a degree higher than high school. This day she carries the hopes and dreams of many women in our family. The ancestors must be smiling today.
My mother's mother remembered not being able to vote as a woman when she was young. She prided herself in never forgetting or neglecting that sacred duty. She taught me it is a privilege that should never be taken for granted. Since then the women in our family always vote and I think of those female ancestors each time I close the voting booth door.
So this day represents the hopes and dreams of generations of people. We can change the world and with this day, we have.
Blessings to all and best wishes to my daughter as she travels the road to her own freedom.
P.S. - My Daughter called later in the evening. She was crying. She didn't pass.
Life is a struggle and we rarely get a glimpse of the why of things. It is unimaginable how things are linked and we can never see what the life line we are holding on to is connected to. Perhaps that is just as well, because if we could anticipate all the blood, sweat and tears that go into living, many of us would simply let go. Yet we know our efforts are not in vain for we cannot always hope to see the harvest of the seeds we sow. We can only go on - one step at a time and with determination and purpose. We hope that our work will accomplish what needs to be done and that we do make a difference. Yet if the end result is never known, be at peace, for the effort is never wasted, never lost. The eyes of the ancestors are on us this day and they know too that our journey will not be easy. We will struggle as they did. We will shed our own tears and blood. But what we learned today is that this hard journey is NOT in vain and the struggle does matter. It helps us to choose the things that are important and remember why we do the things we do. That is the lesson here today. Never give up. Never waver in the conviction that we all can and do make a difference. What matters is the kind of difference that we make and whether those goals bring us closer to each other and our hearts.
Let freedom ring.

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