Inauguration Day 2009

I am not committing to any political party nor am I placing any hope or lack of hope in anyone who represents such. I believe that healing the world of the crises we have learned to face every day of our lives must come from a Power much higher than earthling man and on that subject I am no authority, just someone who is hopeful. However, I do find history to be a fascinating subject in that it is a standing record of the journeys of our ancestors to this moment in time where we stand as handed down through the generations by our forefathers.

Who can dispute the fact that today is an historic day in American history? The 44th President of the United States is being sworn into office today, a fact that will naturally be placed into the annals of history in and of itself. However, what sets this particular inauguration apart from all others is that the 44th President of the U.S. is a black man, which is something that many people would never have foreseen only 60 years ago. People seem to be intrigued by that. Still it is a definite testament to the fact that there has been a great deal of forward movement and change in this country. In stressing the importance he feels toward this event to everyone at work this morning, our CEO sent out a memo stating that all meeting rooms would be forfeiting their planned meeting schedules in order that “all conference rooms throughout our facility will be set up as viewing rooms for today’s event.” And true to nature, many within the organization did take the time out to stop and view the ceremony, myself included.

As I listened to President Obama’s speech, I noticed that he seemed to speak with sincerity as he expressed his high hopes for the recovery of our wounded country which has been stressed to the limit and is ready to rip apart at the seems. However, though I want to believe it can happen, I am skeptical that any man can “fix” us. It is apparent that we have not done so well in directing our own steps to date. The world is in constant turmoil and though we try to go on with our lives and make the best of it, both the constant and the new adversities, like water, always have a way of seeping down through the cracks onto us individually. So where do we run when the water gets too high? What mountain will be high enough to protect us from ourselves? We all want the same things basically…the basic comforts for our families, food on the table, a home in which we can feel safe and live peacefully with an opportunity for productive and fairly compensated work that will allow us to achieve our dreams in life. We want to be able to hold up our heads and be proud of our accomplishments in a world that will allow us to live freely. No able-bodied man or woman should have to face the indignity of not being able to provide at least the basic necessities for their loved ones.

I wish we could say it was as easy as changing leadership to fix us, but I fear it will take much more. What I can say is that it is good to feel a sense of unity among the American people today, a unity that I don't remember ever really feeling in the past. It feels good to see people united and working toward a better life for all of us. My hope is that this will inspire more people to realize that they can dream and that their dreams can come true! Hopefully we have opened the door to that end result.

Peace...