I woke up before 9 today for the first time in weeks, and without an alarm, too. I guess I was really excited about Inauguration Day because I knew what day it was even before I was properly awake, and I hopped out of bed and flipped on the computer to watch live (oh how I love living on the West Coast!). It’s so exciting to watch history unfold, AND have been some small part of it, AND have supported Obama all along.
I’m relieved the inauguration went smoothly and everyone is safe; I prayed for the Obamas’ and Bidens’ security at least twice between last night and this morning. The two families seem so real and so committed. Malia and Sasha are so cute and beautiful and self-assured; it’ll be a pleasure seeing them grow up in the White House. And then there’s their mother! People are already buzzing about what kind of First Lady she’s likely to be. I imagine, given the following she already has, that she’ll be a very involved and influential First Lady, but not in the political way that Hillary Clinton was. She’ll likely have a much greater impact on style and culture — as the many comparisons to Jackie O indicate — and that’s grand. We could do with some style in politics!
Erik remarked that the Obamas and Bidens seem like such normal people, and I think so too. As far as presidential and vice-presidential families go, they seem far less patrician than any of the past few — or perhaps just less entitled. The Bidens seem so pleased to be involved, and the Obamas know the mantle of history rests on them and they need to keep proving themselves over and over again. Many politicians seem to view their election as an end, but it seems like Obama sees his as a beginning, and that’s as it should be.
Aretha Franklin singing “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” was ridiculously fabulous, as was her hat!
I really liked Obama’s speech. He invokes history so eloquently, and is so skilled at sounding like he has thought of and is speaking to every person in this country. I loved his outright refutation of Bush’s foreign policies — in statements like “we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals” and “our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please” — and how he can bring up our nation’s diversity and the triumph of history and these concepts don’t sound empty, because of who he is. His speech began by speaking to all Americans, and moved on to speaking to the world, which is appropriate.
The Benediction at the end of the ceremony, by the 87-year-old Rev Dr Joseph E Lowery (co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with MLK), was sweet and moving. Apparently his somewhat odd-seeming words at the end of his speech (“that day when black will not be asked to get in back, when brown can stick around, when yellow will be mellow, when the red man can get ahead, man; and when white will embrace what is right”) are part of a civil rights chant he has often included in his addresses.
All in all it was a good start to my day, and I hope the dawn of a brand new era!
satsumabug.com | Lisa Hsia 