As I'm about to begin the fifth year of my blog on this morning of Barack Obama's second Inauguration (held on the anniversary of Martin Luther King's birth, a most appropriate and fitting confluence), I feel I should write something so powerful, so moving, so wise, nothing anyone ever writes about this day will even come close.
But anyone who regularly reads my blog knows that's probably not going to happen. What I plan to do on this most auspicious day is to record the small stuff and leave the big stuff to the writerly biggies. This will be a happy post, since this is a happy day for me. (If even reading those few words sends the heat rising to the top of your head and you're threatening to blow, well, buh bye. We'll talk again some time.)
(7:10 AM: Joe Scarborough just said, "I don't want to be known as the conservative party or the moderate party, I just don't want to be known as the stupid party". A delicious example of Joe's inability to speak in sentences that don't include the word "I", making the whole sentence double-funny. Nothing to do with today's festivities, just an aside. We'll move on.)
I can barely conjure up how I felt on the day of Obama's first Inauguration, but I can go back and read that first blog post and there it is. I can go back to the second and the third and the fourth anniversaries of that big day as well to see how I felt each time it rolled around.
And today, after more than a year of much wringing of hands, going between high hilarity (the Republican presidential candidates, one and all) to My God, Romney/Ryan could win and ruin everything, my president, Barack Obama, is about to re-enact the official swearing-in as the next and current president of the United States. (Re-enacted because January 20 fell on a Sunday this year and apparently we're not allowed to inaugurate on the Sabbath. But the president has to be sworn in on January 20, no matter what, so Chief Justice Roberts did the honors yesterday in a private ceremony (except for the cameras) and today it's being repeated at the Big HooHaw, anti-climactic as it might seem to the purists--who probably aren't going to be pleased about anything today, anyway.)
And, of course, there's Joe Biden--the icing on the cake. Four more years of Joe--could I get more giddy?
11:50 AM. Barack Obama has just taken the oath of office again and now he is giving his inaugural address.
12:12 PM. I am moved to tears. It was a speech to remember.
And now I'm weeping again, as Kelly Clarkson sings "My Country Tis of Thee."
And again, as Richard Blanco reads his splendid poem, "One Today".
And Beyonce sings the National Anthem. . .
And now the benediction by Pastor Luis Leon. A perfect bookend to Medgar Evers' widow, Myrlie Evers-Williams' Invocation.
(Okay, before you ask. . .I, the professed heathen, have no real problem with invocations and benedictions at government functions. I may not understand the necessity, but I'm pretty sure a couple of simple prayers is not going to be enough to turn the government theocratic. )
And after an hour or so, it's done. We have a president (and a vice president) for four more years. In my case, I have the president (and the vice president) I wanted to have, but because we have elections that aren't completely off the wall there are some people who can't say that. I've been there before and now I'm not. That means I'm happier than they are today, but never fear--if I live long enough, they will have their turn. (Not that they'll deserve it, damn them. Smiley face)
3:55 PM. The president and the First Lady have made their stroll down Pennsylvania Avenue and are now back in their limousine, and I have to admit, I'm relieved. I've never seen so many Secret Service agents in one place. I'm sure there were sharpshooters stationed up on the roofs. (I wish it weren't so, but in these times, with this president, we have reason to worry.)
We'll have four more years to debate the good and the bad of this presidency. Time enough to start it up in the days to come. I reserve today for celebration. And tomorrow and tomorrow.
I'm that happy.
It is now our generation's task to carry on what those pioneers began. For our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers, and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts. Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law – for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well. Our journey is not complete until no citizen is forced to wait for hours to exercise the right to vote. Our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land of opportunity; until bright young students and engineers are enlisted in our workforce rather than expelled from our country. Our journey is not complete until all our children, from the streets of Detroit to the hills of Appalachia to the quiet lanes of Newtown, know that they are cared for, and cherished, and always safe from harm.
President Barack Obama, Inaugural speech, January 21, 2013.
(Cross-posted at Dagblog, as always)
Great as always, Mona! But you're wrong about one thing: This is outstanding writing. There is profundity in a glimpse, in a glance. Even the most noteworthy photo album is but a series of snapshots. What you choose for your focus is compelling and evocative -- a visceral reminder as to the impact a series of events can have in our lives. Such as those which brought us to this day. Three cheers for our president!
ReplyDeleteLinda, you are much too kind. I still believe that one voice joined with many thousands builds the kind of momentum we need to get this job done. It's all I can hope for.
DeleteWe're seeing the kind of change we've been hoping for these long years, small steps as they might be, and now we begin to build on that. We can't let down now.
Thank you for rising from your sick bed to write this! Get well, my friend.
I watched the entire thing, and spent much of it dabbing happy tears from my eyes. It was a wonderful day.
ReplyDeleteWasn't it, though? I've deliberately stayed away from the negatives, still savoring the fact that Obama/Biden will be at their posts for the next four years.
Delete(Just watched Hillary stir 'em up at the Benghazi hearings. Much as I love Joe, I want Hillary in 2016. Rand Paul and John McCain were disgusting in their opportunistic questioning, and she knocked them dead. Love that woman!)