In April 2001, my family was on a road trip for a wedding in South Carolina. My parents decided to take a few days in Washington, DC for us kids to see the city. It was a very cool time. We were allowed to tour the White House, walk unguided around the Capitol and each Senate/House chamber (Thanks to Sen. Clinton!), and had the general monument tourist freedom that was erased on September 11th of that same year.
I say this because while I remember a lot of ‘historic’ things from that trip. What stands out at me most vividily (Besise the super clean DC metro), was all the merchandise that knocked President Bush. He had only been President for three months of course, in what was a very controversial election. He lost in the popular vote and only became President when the Supreme Court decided not to delay the process by scrutinizing ballots in Florida.
“Hail to the thief!”
“Thank you Oh-hi-ya & brother Jeba-di-ah!”
I couldn’t really believe there was so much animosity for a new President. He really hadn’t done anything wrong yet! In fact, his approval ratings at that time were abysmal. When 9/11 came along, of course, our nation rallied behind him and his approval ratings went to the highest of any modern President. The honeymoon of W. continued. We were behind him when we dismantled the Taliban in Afghanistan, and despite the lack of evidence and uneasiness, about 50% of the country approved of us attacking Iraq – without UN approval.
Fast forward to the January, 2005 inauguration. Bush beat John Kerry for a second term as President. It was a fair win this time. But that didn’t stop people from disliking President Bush. By this point, he had simply alienated too many people. That 2005 inauguration was a low point in American history. People pelted the President’s limo with eggs and other debris. Pepper spray was used on protestors and riot police had to be brought in. The car had to be sped up to end the parade early. The whole ugly scene really set the tone for his second term in the Oval Office. The inauguration was marred by hate, unhappy Americans, and a generation of our apathetic youth making empty promises of moving to Canada.
Yesterday American swore in President Barack Hussein Obama as the 44th American President (Not without a big flub by Chief Justice John Roberts!). There was no tear gas, no riot police called, and no eggs. There were about 1.9 million supporters there to witness history and zero arrests.
People cried. People chanted ‘Yes We Can’. When George W. Bush and Dick Cheney were announced there were a chorus of inappropriate ‘boo’s’ followed by the beloved chorus, ‘Nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah, Hey hey hey, Goodbye!’. People that were at the 1963 March on Washington revisted the area where a preacher from Georgia spoke of his dream and they were there to see much of that dream fulfilled. People danced. People sang. People said, ‘it was like God was speaking to them.’
Of course, President Obama is no messiah. He is no savior. He is a man. A man with an extremely long task in front of him to try to steer the American ship through its current stormy waters.
In Barack’s speech yesterday, he called for a “new era of responsibility in America.” USAService.org was officially launched and an, oh so sleekly designed, new and improved WhiteHouse.gov was flipped on at exactly noon yesterday. President Obama wants us to get back to rebuild America’s promise. And as the Pastor said this morning at Obama’s opening prayer, “Maybe the best thing we can all give our new President is prayers during these tough times.” Guy needs all the help he can get.
Barack acknowledged the challenges before us saying, “Today, I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America–they will be met.”
President Obama, and I take great pride in saying that, also called on the Muslim world in two facets. He tapped Islamic fundamentalists by saying, “We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.”
In speaking to the rest of the Muslim world, “we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society’s ills on the West–know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history, but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.” Probably the most memorable bit of a speech that was low on historic rhetoric but spoke to the severity of the moment effectively.
What Barack Obama means today is the same as meant for us the past two years: Hope and Change. While hope isn’t a policy as much as change is only an empty promise, we believed in hope and change for two years. While not everyone was initially sold on the rhetoric, more so, are coming around in Obama’s transition approval (~80%). I think you’ll be hard pressed to find a more active President-elect in American history. We are all in this together. Barack has always pushed the ‘you’ and ‘we’. If we are going to fix this country, it will take a better effort. A willingness to work harder. A willingness to be a better parent. A willingness to be a better student. A willingness to live a healthier lifestyle. A willingness to speak for those that cannot speak for themselves. A willingness to look inward before blaming others first. A willingness to abandon the ‘me first’ attitude. The willingness to accept all-creeds and all-peoples. The willingness to smile more. And the willingness to accept the notion of a better tomorrow.
Cynicism will get our society nowhere. Hating Obama isn’t going to help our situation in any capacity. As Obama said in that 2004 DNC keynote, “We worship an awesome God in the blue states, and we don’t like federal agents poking around our libraries in the red states. We coach little league in the blue states and, yes, we’ve got some gay friends in the red states. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America”
The pessimism, while welcome for discussion, can not be your first instinct. I want to live in a world years from now when I can tell my kids that America came together, like nothing we had done before, to make the world a better place for everyone, not just ourselves. President Obama is not going to be able to do it on his own. And even years from now if the pundits give Obama all the success of transforming our nation, he will be wise enough to recognize the work that we the people put in, in order to form a more perfect union. Optimism – hope – change. Don’t be ashamed of optimism. Don’t let others break the will of your internal resolve. Don’t let those hopeful ideals fade into the dark January night. Continue to hold on to these triumphs of the human spirit.
President Obama closed his speech with that push of optimism, “Let it be said by our children’s children that when we were tested, we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God’s grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.”
Yes We Can.
