Thoughts on the Inauguration

I'm not going to write anything about the historical or symbolic significance of today's inauguration. There will be and already have been thousands of words written by people a lot more eloquent and insightful than me. If you'd like to read one of these check out Scott Freeman's letter to his Daughters.

I'm just going to post some random thoughts that I had while watching.

I was suprised at how moved I was by the whole affair (at least the part I saw, I left to go back to work during the poetry, so I didn't see the entire thing), watching the motorcade arriving, seeing all the former presidents, the vastness and excitement of the crowd, the views of Washington DC itself, the simplicity of the the actual swearing in ceremony, and the poise and air of confidence of President Obama.

I did not much care for the inaugural poem or suprisingly Aretha Franklin's singing of My Country Tis of Thee (and I love Aretha). Maybe it was having to be all bundled up and singing in 27 degree weather.

And how did Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, Montero, McGill play the violin, cello, piano and clarinet in 27 degree weather (their fingers had to be frozen) ?

One last weather related thought, As neat as it would be to say that I was there in person (unless I was sitting up with the dignitaries and not standing 5 miles away) I am very glad that I was home watching it in HD instead.

I had to wonder what Al Gore and Hillary Clinton were thinking as they walked in. The What If's, the this could've been me thoughts. How hard would that be to know you had come so close. What about George W ? Relief, Regret. Then Obama striding down the hall looking cool, calm and confident. How does that feel knowing you're about to become the most powerful man on earth?

I loved George H Bush's hat.

The inaugural speech, wow! The man can speak. I'm suprised that I've heard the speech referred to as somber. I thought it was honest and frank about the difficulties ahead but the tone was anything but somber. It was a speech of hope and optimistic determination, truly inspiring. Of course the hack's at FOX have already begun attacking it.

Malia and Sasha are going to be media darlings but I can't imagine being raised in the White House. I liked the advice the Bush girls gave them - "Many people will think they know him, but they have no idea how he felt the day you were born, the pride he felt on your first day of school, or how much you both love being his daughters. So here is our most important piece of advice: remember who your dad really is."

But amid all the celebration and excitement of today's event and President Obama talking about working together and a new bipartisanship, I thought of how difficult that will be. We have a political system where the success of one party largely depends on the failure of the other. When it comes down to it, how many politicians will choose the good of the country over their own advancement. And as great a step forward electing the first African-American president is, racism did not magically disappear today.

I also thought of all the snide and hateful comments that I will hear from my fellow Christian brothers and sisters over the next 4 or 8 years. That somehow God has given them the ability to see into this Christian man of faiths heart and invalidate his Christianity because he disagrees with us or wrong on certain issues. My hope is that I'm mistaken about this, that we will support and pray for his success.

Even with these doubts, today left me hopeful,excited and optimistic about what lies ahead.